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DICK  RODNEY; 


OB, 


THE  ADVENTURES  OF  AN  ETON  BOY. 


Br 

JAMES   GRANT. 


PHILADELPHIA: 

J.  B.  LIPPINCOTT    COMPANY. 


^\4 


CONTENTS. 


eaAPTEK  VAM 

I.    The  ETON  BOY       .        •        •        •        .        .      7 

U.     Captain  zeervogel 15 

III.  The  three  WARNiNas   .        •        •        .        .    21 

IV.  How  I   GOT  ADRIFT       ...  .80 

V.    Useless  regrets   .  .    85 

VI.     The  EUGENIE 44 

VII.  The  scotch  mate's  yarn    .        .        .        .52 

VIII.  Voyage  continued 59 

IX.    A  hurricane  drives  us  to    thk  fortu- 
nate  ISLES  .  .  .      75 

X.  I  go  ashore 83 

XI.  How  TOM  WAS  tattooed      ....  88 

XII.  Dangerous  company                        ,        .  99 

Xni.  The  ventana 105 

XIV.  Sequel  to  our  adventcrb                        .  Ill 

XV.  The  anchor  a-peak         ....  121 

XVI.  An  incident  ...                 ...  126 

(3) 


CONTEXTS. 


X^TI. 

Antonio  ei,  cubano        .        . 

132 

XVIII. 

The  water-spout 

.    141 

XIX. 

Cuba 

149 

XX. 

An  evil  spirit    .        .        . 

.   .157 

XXI. 

We  cross  the  line 

165 

xxn. 

The  cubano  unmasked 

.     170 

XXIII. 

Conference  of  the  crew     . 

179 

XXIV. 

I  confront  the  cubano    . 

.     187 

XXV. 

I  rescue  the  mate 

194 

XXVI. 

The  requital 

.     199 

XXVII. 

The  thunderbolt  .        .        . 

206 

xxvm. 

Cast  away  .... 

.     214 

XXIX. 

Discover  land         .        .        . 

220 

XXX. 

The  island  of  alphonso  . 

228 

XXXI. 

We  build  a  hut 

233 

XXXII. 

A   WILD    BOAH 

.     238 

xxxni. 

A  NEW  perplexity  . 

246 

XXXIV. 

The  mystery  increases     . 

.     252 

XXXV. 

The  mystery  solved 

258 

XXXVI. 

A  terrible  interview 

.     265 

XXXVII. 

The  fata  morgana 

275 

xxxvm. 

Marooned    .... 

.     282 

XXXIX. 

A  new  danger 

291 

XL. 

The  revolver  again 

.     297 

XLI. 

A  waterlogged  vessel         . 

304 

XLU. 

The  old  sp.v^'ish  book 

.    812 

CONTENTS.  O 

XLIII.  Sangre  por  sangre        .       .       .        823 

XLIV.  The  san  ildefonso    .        .        .        .330 

XLV.  We  sail  for  europe     .        .        .        336 

XL VI.  The  homeward  voyage   .        .        .346 

XLVU.    A  MUTINY 856 

XLVIII.  Sequel  to  the  mutiny     .        •        .    363 

XLIX.  The  coast  of  Africa    .        .        .        874 

L.     Santa  cruz 884 

LI.  The  old  dragon  tree  of  caora        389 

LII.  Valley  of  the  diamond  .        .        .    399 

LUr.  The  last  of  antonio  el  cubano       410 

LIV.  Conclusion         .       .       •       .       .418 


DICK  RODNEY; 


THE  ADVENTURES  OF  AN  ETON   BOY. 


CHAPTER  L 


THE    ETON    BOY. 


In  the  relation  of  the  following  adventures  I 
do  not  mean  to  illustrate  the  principle  maintained 
by  some  writers,  that  by  an  inevitable  course  of 
events  in  life,  that  becomes  fate,  which  at  first 
was  merely  choice  ;  but  rather  -to  show  how,  by 
a  remarkable  combination  of  circumstances  (to  a 
great  extent  beyond  my  own  control),  I  was  in- 
volved in  a  series  of  perils  and  perigrinations, 
such  as  rarely  fall  to  the  lot  even  of  those  who 
have  the  most  restless  of  dispositions. 

That  my  temperament  was,  and  is  still,  some- 
thing of  this  nature,  I  must  confess ;  and  the 
reading  of  my  leisure  hours  —  books  of  wild  ad- 
venture by  field  and  flood  (I  have  devoured  them 

(7) 


g  DICK   RODNEY. 

all  from  the  volumes  of  dear  old  Daniel  Defoe,  to 
those  of  the  Railway  Library),  fiUed  my  mind 
with  vague  longings  and  airy  fancies,  for  greater 
achievements  than  our  periodical  regatta,  or  the 
ranks  of  our  Eton  Ri  le  Volunteer  Corps  were 
liUely  to  afford,  although  I  deemed  myself  by  no 
means  an  undistinguished  member  of  the  latter. 

I  had  been  for  the  usual  time  an  "  oppidan  " 
at  Eton ;  but,  though  standing  high  in  favor  of 
the  Reverend  M.  A.  with  whom  I  was  boarded, 
of  the  Vice  Provost,  and  other  functionaries,  I 
had,  unfortunately  and  unwisely,  spent  too  much 
of  my  time  with  the  boxing  gloves  and  fencing 
foils ;  at  cricket  in  the  playing  fields ;  in  rowing 
on  the  river  —  that  old  traditional  amusement 
of  our  Etonians ;  in  training  for  the  great  4th  of 
June,  the  College  Regatta  day;  and  in  erratic 
excursions  to  Windsor  and  elsewhere  —  to  hope 
for  transference  to  Cambridge. 

This  had  long  been  the  dearest  wish  of  my  fa- 
ther, poor  man!  but  in  his  letters  to  me  the 
names  of  Walpole,  Canning,  Fox,  Wellington, 
HaUam,  and  other  alumni  of  our  great  seminary, 
were  rehearsed  again  and  again  without  effect ; 
and  he  never  failed  to  remind  me,  in  the  words 
of  old  Lembarde,  that  it  is  always  to  Cambridge 
"  the  scole  of  Eton  sendeth  her  ripe  fruite." 

I  had  earned  the  unpleasant  reputation  of  be- 
ing an  idler,  though  by  no  means  one ;  and  this 
was  oddly  enough  confirmed,  when  one  day  J 


THE   ETON   BOY.  9 

narrowly  escaped  drowning  in  the  same  pool,  if 
not  among  the  same  weeds,  where  George,  Earl 
Waldegrave,  an  Eton  boy  in  his  tenth  year,  per- 
ished so  long  ago  as  1794,  when  bathing  in  the 
Thames,  near  a  field  called  the  Brocas. 

"  Existence,"  says  a  certain  writer,  "  appears 
to  me  scarcely  existence,  without  its  struggles 
and  its  successes.  I  should  ever  like  to  have 
some  great  end  before  me,  for  the  striving  to  at- 
tain amid  a  crowd  of  competitors,  would  make 
me  feel  all  the  glory  of  Ufe." 

With  such  vague  ideas  floating  before  me,  I 
returned  from  Eton  last  year,  and  found  myself 
at  my  father's  house,  the  old  and  secluded  Rec- 
tory of  Erlesmere,  in  a  very  undecided  frame  of 
mind  as  to  the  future,  and  the  profession  I  should 
adopt. 

My  father,  as  before,  urged  King's  College  as 
a  proper  preparation  for  any  profession. 
.  My  mother  hinted  that  our  name  had  shone 
in  the  navy,  and  cast  a  glance  at  a  large  portrait 
which  hung  in  the  dining-room.  It  represented 
George  Lord  Rodney,  the  castigator  of  the  Span- 
iards, in  a  full  bob-wig  and  white  satin  breeches, 
boarding  the  leading  ship  of  the  Caracca  fleet, 
amid  a  whirlwind  of  torn  rigging,  smoke,  and 
cannon-balls,  forming  a  background  by  no  means 
hilarious. 

But  my  father  pooh-poohed  this.  I  was  al- 
ready far  too  old  for  the  time  at  which  the  navy 


10  DICK  RODNEY. 

is  entered  —  to   wit,   the  mature  years  of  thir- 
teen. 

Then  my  aunt  Etty,  who  still  curled  her  hair 
in  the  fashion  of  thirty  years  ago,  recommended 
the  army  with  a  pensive  air ;  for  she  had  been 
engaged  to  a  young  sub,  who  was  kiUed  at — I 
must  not  say  where,  for  it  was  a  great  many 
years  ago,  and  Aunt  Etty  is  unmarried  stiU; 
but  her  views,  though  warmly  seconded  by  sis- 
ters Dot  and  Sybil  (who  saw  military  balls  and 
pic-nics  in  perspective),  did  not  accord  with 
mine,  for  I  had  spent  two  years  or  more  in  our 
Eton  rifle  corps,  and  the  monotony  of  the  driU-— 
especially  that  boring  curriculum  of  Hythe  posi- 
tion (I  went  through  the  musketry  class),  worried 
me,  as  I  wilfuUy  deemed  myself  able  to  sight  my 
weapon  and  bring  down  either  a  Frenchman  or 
a  pheasant  without  it. 

At  Aunt  Etty's  suggestion,  my  father  would 
shake  his  white  head,  and  say,  quoting  the  author 
of  Ecclesiasticus,  — 

" '  There  are  two  things  which  grieve  my  heart 
to  see :  a  man  of  war  that  suffereth  from  poverty, 
and  men  of  understanding  that  are  not  set  by.' 
The  sword,  Etty,  is  but  a  poor  inheritance ;  bet- 
ter send  Dick  to  the  counting-house  of  his  uncle, 
Rodney  and  Co.,  in  London." 

But  I  trembled  at  this  suggestion,  as  it  did  not 
accord  with  my  own  brilliant  views  in  any  way 
and  so  months  passed  idly  away. 


THE   ETON   BOY.  H 

I  missed  the  manly  amusements  of  Eton,  and 
the  hilarity  of  my  class-fellows ;  and  though  lov- 
ing well  my  home  and  family,  when  the  novelty 
of  my  return  and  of  perfect  freedom  passed  away, 
I  longed  for  a  change  of  scene  —  a  stirring  occu' 
pation  —  an  active  employment. 

Is  destiny  stronger  than  intention  ? 

I  should  hope  not ;  yet  for  a  time  I  was  almost 
inclined  to  think  so,  after  the  terrible  episode  by 
which  I  was  suddenly  torn  from  my  home,  and 
cast  upon  that  world  which,  hitherto,  I  had  viewed 
through  the  sunny  medium  of  my  day-dreams 
and  romances  alone. 

Our  Rectory  is  situated  a  mile  distant  from 
the  sea,  of  which  an  ample  view  can  be  had  from 
the  upper  windows.  Behind  the  house  grows  a 
coppice  of  mighty  oaks,  the  gnarled  arms  of  which 
bear  loads  of  rustling  foliage  that  form  long  leafy 
dells,  through  which  the  sun  can  scarcely  penetrate 
in  summer, — trees  so  old  that  the  mind  becomes 
lost  in  attempting  to  conceive  what  was  there  be- 
fore they  grew,  or  who  planted  them,  and  of  all 
that  has  passed  in  the  changing  world,  of  all  that 
have  been  born,  have  lived  long  lives,  died,  and 
been  laid  in  their  silent  graves,  since  these  old 
oaks  were  acorns,  twigs,  and  saplings ! 

The  Rectory  of  Erlesmere  is  an  antique  man- 
sion, with  projecting  oriel  windows,  the  mtdlions 
of  which  are  almost  hidden  by  ivy,  woodbine,  and 
honeysuckle.     One  portion  terminates  in  a  steep 


12  DICK  RODNEY. 

dove-cot  gable,  the  other  in  a  kind  of  tower, 
wherein,  says  traditio'i,  an  old  rector  of  former 
times  defended  himself  against  the  puritans,  and 
valiantly  blazed  away  with  a  matchlock  through 
some  narrow  slits,  in  which  the  martins  now 
built  their  nests  in  peace,  and  over  which  the 
China  roses  grew  undisturbed ;  while  against  the 
strong  old  wall  my  sisters  Sybil  and  Dot  had 
their  fernery,  to  them  an  object  of  great  solicitude 
and  interest,  as  they  were  very  learned  in  the 
science  of  all  manner  of  leaves,  blades,  and  twigs, 
and  knew  their  mysterious  names. 

Close  by  is  our  old  Rectory  church,  with  its 
brass-mounted  tombs  of  the  Middle  Ages,  and 
its  black  oak  pews  of  the  Puritan  times,  where 
every  Sunday  and  holiday  the  rays  of  light  fell 
through  the  painted  windows  on  the  bowed  heads 
of  the  country  people  while  my  father  preached. 

Beyond  the  house  tuid  church  stretches  a  fair 
green  English  lawn,  whereon  a  herd  of  deer  are 
grazing,  with  the  summer  sunshine  falling  on 
their  smooth  dapple  coats  as  they  toss  their  ant' 
lers  ;  and,  when  scared  by  the  whistle  of  the  dis- 
tant railway  train,  they  glide  away  to  the  oak 
coppice,  that  is  older  than  the  days  of  the  Tudors 
or  Stuarts. 

That  coppice  and  the  sea-shore,  but  especially 
the  latter,  were  my  favorite  resorts.  Daily  I  wan- 
dered by  the  beach,  listening  to  the  surge  that 
chafed  upon  the  layers  of  pebbles,  shells,  and 


THE   ETON   BOY.  13 

seaweed,  thinking  of  Danish  Canute  and  his  ser- 
vile courtiers,  or  filled  by  those  vague,  solemn, 
and  pleasing  thoughts,  which  the  sight  of  an 
object  so  mighty  and  mysterious  as  the  boundless 
ocean  creates  within  us. 

The  monotonous  sound  of  wave  after  wave,  as 
they  broke  on  the  flat  beach,  made  me  think  of 
lands  and  shores,  of  people,  cities,  and  adventures 
far,  far  away  from  our  quiet  old  ivy-clad  Rectory 
and  its  daily  routine.  Thus,  every  piece  of  drift 
wood,  every  strange  fishbone  and  mouldered  piece 
of  timber  which  the  ocean  cast  at  my  feet,  became 
a  source  of  interest  for  the  mind  to  ruminate 
upon. 

I  remember  the  masts  of  a  sunken  vessel  being 
discovered  one  morning,  about  two  miles  from 
the  shore,  and  they  were  long  a  source  of  specu- 
lation to  me.  A  mystery  hovered  about  these* 
rotting  spars,  these  slimy  ropes  that  waved  in  the 
sea  breeze,  and  the  hull  that  lay  amid  the  rocks 
and  weeds  so  far  down  below. 

What  was  her  story,  what  the  fate  of  her  crew, 
none  could  guess,  as  no  bodies  ever  came  ashore 
with  the  tide. 

When  a  ship  appeared  at  the  horizon,  my  eye 
followed  her  until  her  sails  melted  into  the  dis 
tant  .haze,  and  then  it  seemed  as  if  spirit  and 
fancy  pursued  her  together  upon  the  world  of 
waters. 

Generally  we  saw  only  coasters  creeping  along. 


14  DICK  RODNEY. 

or  colliers  bound  for  the  Thames,  with  their  dingy 
canvas,  their  black  sides,  and  encumbered  decks ; 
but  more  than  once  we  were  favored  by  seeing  a 
British  line-of-battle  ship  in  all  her  glory  —  one 
of  the  channel  squadron,  no  doubt  —  with  her 
squared  yards,  her  flush  decks,  her  snow-white 
hammocks  in  the  nettings  —  the  ports  triced  up, 
and  the  triple  tier  of  sixty-eights  or  thirty-twos 
peering  through  them ;  the  scarlet  ensign  float- 
ing at  her  gafl"  peak  ;  the  officers  lounging  on  the 
poop,  the  red-coated  marines  at  their  posts ;  and 
high  over  aU,  the  long  whip-like  pennant  stream- 
ing on  the  air,  from  the  mainmast  head. 

Such  a  sight,  under  a  splendid  sunshine,  when 
the  summer  sea  w^as  only  rippled  by  a  gentle 
breeze,  to  catch  which  every  inch  of  canvas  was 
spread  to  the  yard-heads,  might  make  the  coldest 
heart  quicken ;  and  it  certainly  made  me  think 
of  my  mother's  wishes,  and  of  old  Rodney  in  his 
bob-wig  and  ruffles,  scrambling  at  the  head  of 
his  boarders,  sword  in  hand,  up  the  carved  and 
gilded  side  of  the  Spanish  galleon  —  of  Boscawen 
and  Benbow,  Captain  Cook,  and  Robinson  Cru- 
soe ;  for  the  real  and  the  ideal  were  all  blended 
together  in  my  wayward  mind^ 


CAPTAIN  ZEERVOGEL.  15 


CHAPTER   II. 

CAPTAIN    ZEERVOGEL. 

Two  miles  from  the  Rectory  is  the  village  oi 
small  seaport  of  Erlesmere. 

It  is  a  sunshiny  little  place,  having  a  row  of 
fishermen's  houses,  that  are  covered  by  wood- 
bine and  honeysuckle,  amid  which,  and  over 
which,  are  quantities  of  brown  nets  and  black 
bladders,  drying  in  the  breeze. 

Garlands  of  red-floats  are  tossed  upon  the  same 
breeze,  as  they  are  strung  in  lines  across  the 
little  street ;  and  others,  that  are  painted  yellow, 
nestle,  like  great  pumpldns,  amid  the  luxuriant 
masses  of  leaves  which  cover  the  picturesque  lit- 
tle dwellings.  Boats  of  all  sizes  and  rusty  anchors 
encumber  the  little  street,  which  is  paved  with 
round  stones ;  while  oars,  spare  yards,  and  masts 
stand  against  the  waUs  and  eaves  in  all  directions. 

Swarms  of  red-cheeked  children  gambol  amid 
this  nautical  debris ;  and  they  bring  such  quan- 
tities of  shells  and  pebbles  from  the  sea-beach 
that  there  are  as  many  in  the  street  as  on  the 
shore. 

One  of  the  leading  features  in  the  fisher-vil- 
lage of  Erlesmere   is  a  little  public   house,  at 


16  DICK   RODNET 

the  ivy-covered  porch  of  which  a  group  of  b'lrly 
weather-beaten  fellows  in  long  boots,  striped 
shirts,  and  red  nightcaps,  and  constantly  smok- 
ing, drinking,  and  "taking  squinte  to  seaward" 
through  an  old  battered  telescope, "  served  "  round 
with  spun-yarn.  Near  it  is  a  small  dock-yard, 
ivhere  their  boats  are  built,  tarred,  and  painted, 
and  where  a  passing  coaster  may  have  a  trivial 
repair  effected,  and  occasionally  be  hove  down. 

This  dock  is  inclosed  by  a  low  ruinous  wall, 
but,  of  course,  is  open  toward  the  sea.  It  is  fuU 
of  well-seasoned  logs,  queer  odds  and  ends  of 
trees — it  is  redolent  of  tar  and  bilge,  and  is  knee- 
deep  in  chips  and  shavings.  Its  only  ornament 
is  a  flag-staif,  whereon  an  old  union  jack  is  dis- 
played on  national  holidays;  for  we  are  very 
loyal  people  in  Erlesmere,  no  penny  newspaper 
having  ever  found  its  way  there  to  create  dis- 
union among  us.  We  have  no  traditions  that 
go  beyond  the  days  of  Nelson,  Howe,  and  Dun- 
can ;  and  one  old  fellow,  the  patriarch  of  the 
village,  remembers  well  that  sunny  morning  in 
the  last  days  of  1805,  when  a  great  squadron 
was  seea  standing  slowly  up-channel,  with  all 
their  ensigns  half  hoisted,  for  the  hero  of  Trafal- 
gar lay  dead  in  the  cabin  of  the  Victory  I 

It  happened,  only  last  year,  that  a  small  Dutch 
schooner  of  some  fifty  tons  was  laid  down  on  the 
gridiron  at  Erlesmere  dock,  for  the  purpose  of 
being  repaired.      This  was  an  event  of  some 


CAPTAIN   ZEERVOGEL.  17 

importance,  and  the  whole  nautical  population 
cheerfully  lent  a  hand  in  unloading  her,  and 
securing  the  cargo,  which  consisted  of  apples 
and  Tergou  cheeses ;  while  her  skipper.  Captain 
Zeervogel,  and  the  six  men  who  composed  his 
crew,  became  for  the  time  the  lions  and  oracles 
of  the  smoking-room  and  porch  of  the  ivy-covered 
tavern,  where  it  was  tacitly  agreed  that  nothing 
should  be  said  about  Lord  Duncan,  or  "  the 
licking  he  gave  these  Dutch  lubbers  off  the 
Texel,"  in  our  grandfathers'  days. 

I  had  never  seen  a  Dutch  craft  before  ;  thus 
the  quaint  aspect  of  this  schooner,  with  her  deep 
waist,  her  bow  and  stern  which  were  so  clumsy 
in  their  form  and  strength,  so  exactly  alike,  and 
tilted  up  till  she  resembled  a  cheese  cut  in  half 
— her  leeboards,  her  brown  oak  planks,  all  bright 
with  varnish,  and  her  little  cabin  windows  encir- 
cled by  alternate  stripes  of  red,  green,  and  white 
paint,  all  made  her,  to  me,  a  source  of  wonder ; 
and  I  was  daily  on  board,  having  obtained  a  free 
entry,  after  the  bestowal  of  some  schnaps  {i.  e., 
gin  and  water)  upon  the  captain,  Jan  van  Zeer- 
vogel, who  told  me  many  a  strange  tale  of  the 
North  Sea,  for  he  was  a  pleasant  and  commu- 
nicative old  fellow,  having,  as  he  told  me,  a  wife 
and  children,  who  kept  his  farm  on  the  isle  of 
Wolfersdyck,  near  South  Beveland,  while  he 
tempted  the  dangers  of  the  ocean  to  dispose  of 
its  agricultural  produce. 


18  DICK  RODNEY. 

One  night,  while  the  schooner  was  still  on  the 
gridii-on,  but  when  her  repairs  were  nearly  com- 
pleted, I  was  with  him  in  the  little  dungeon  which 
he  called  his  cabin  ;  darkness  had  set  in,  and  the 
hour  was  late  —  later  than  I  ought  to  have  been 
aboard  —  for  we  kept  early  hours  at  the  Rectory ; 
but  the  novelty  of  the  situation,  the  old  Dutch- 
man's stories,  the  fumes  of  his  meerschaum,  and 
the  effect  of  some  peaches,  which  he  gave  me 
from  a  large  gallipot,  wherein  his  wife  had  pre- 
served them  in  brandy,  rendered  me  careless  as 
to  how  the  time  passed. 

"  So,  Captain  Zeervogel,"  said  I,  "  you  are  a 
farmer  as  well  as  a  mariner?  " 

"  Yes,  a  schiffer  as  well  as  a  boor,  a  plougher 
alike  of  the  land  and  sea,"  he  replied,  in  good 
English.  "  I  have  a  farm  "  (he  pronounced  it 
varrni,  and  so  on,  using  consonants  in  a  mode 
with  which  I  shall  not  afflict  the  reader),  "  at 
Wolfersdyck,  which  is  one  of  the  most  pleasant 
of  the  Zealand  isles,  and  is  about  six  mUes  long. 
It  was  larger  once,  but  when  the  dykes  broke, 
the  sea  swallowed  up  a  great  portion  of  it. 
About  three  hundred  years  ago  the  sea  burst 
over  all  Beveland,  and  for  many  a  year  nothing 
of  it  was  visible  above  the  water,  but  the  vanes 
and  tops  of  the  church  steeples,  with  the  sea-gulls 
and  petrels  perching  on  them.*     So,  you  see, 

*  This  was  in  1532. 


CAPTAIN  ZEERVOGEL.  19 

master,  as  soon  as  we  come  to  anchor  in  the 
Zuid-vliet,  and  have  our  fore  and  aft  canvas  in 
the  brails,  my  horses  come  from  their  stables,  we 
run  a  hawser  ahead,  and  thereby  they  tow  the 
schooner  through  a  little  canal  right  into  my  own 
farm-yard,  where  my  wife,  my  children,  my  house- 
dog—  even  the  pigs,  cocks  and  hens  await  and 
welcome  us.  There  we  load  her,  and  victual  the 
crew  forward  and  the  cabin  aft,  with  the  produce 
of  my  own  land.  My  brother,  who  kept  the 
SchifFer  Huys  on  the  shore  of  the  Zuid-vliet,  used 
to  manage  all  that  for  me.  But  good  Adrian  is 
gone  now  —  he  died  under  strange  and  terrible 
circumstances,  heaven  rest  him ! " 

The  usually  jolly  Dutch  captain  emitted  a 
sigh  and  a  mighty  pufF  of  smoke  together.  He 
applied  once  more  to  a  square-case  bottle  of 
schiedam,  and  then  became  silent  —  even  sad. 

"  Strange  circumstances  ?  "  said  I,  echoing  his 
words ;  "  may  I  inquire  what  they  were  ?  " 

*  "  Ugh,  myn  brooder !     I  almost  shudder  when 
I  think  of  them  !  " 

My  curiosity  was  naturally  excited,  and  I  ad- 
ded— 

"  Was  he  drowned  ?  " 

"  No,  no  —  worse." 

«  KiUed  ?  " 

"  I  cannot  say  ;  he  died  by  my  hand  on  that 
cabin  floor  ;  and  yet  he  did  not,  for  he  perished 
of  a  marsh  fever  ashore." 


20  DICK   RODNEY. 

I  thought  that  the  brain  of  Captain  Jan  Van 
Zcervogel  was  disordered,  or  at  least  was  becom- 
ing affected  by  the  contents  of  his  bottle  of  schie- 
dam  ;  but  he  resumed  : 

"  Though  I  am  not  one  who  is  much  used  to 
looking  astern  in  the  voyage  of  life,  or  back 
through  the  mists  of  time  and  memory,  I  will  tell 
you  this  strange  story,  Mr.  Rodney,  as  it  hap- 
pened to  me." 

The  captain  carefully  refilled  the  brown  bowl 
of  his  large  pipe,  lit  it  with  equal  deliberation, 
and  after  a  few  whiffs,  during  which  his  keen, 
gray  eyes  were  bent  on  the  cabin  floor,  he  fixed 
them  on  the  rudder  case,  and  then  commenced 
his  tale. 


THE   THREE   WARNINGS.  21 

CHAPTER   III. 

THE     THREE     WARNINGS. 

"  I  MUST  preface  my  story  by  telling  you  that 
my  brother  Adrian  and  I  were  twins,  and  pos- 
sessed to  the  full  that  mysterious  affinity  and 
affection  which  are  said  to  exist  between  those 
who  are  born  thus.  When  Adrian's  arm  was 
broken  by  the  sail  of  a  windmill,  I  was  cruising 
off  the  coast  of  Mexico,  yet  I  was  sensible  of  a 
shock  and  of  a  benumbed  feeling  in  my  right 
elbow  which  puzzled  the  doctors  for  many  days ; 
yet  it  passed  away  as  Adrian's  hurt  became  well, 
and  until  my  return  home  I  knew  not  what  had 
affected  me. 

"  It  happened  also  that  when  I  was  nearly 
drowned  by  falling  from  the  foretopsail  yard,  in  a 
dark  night  during  a  gale  in  the  Pentland  Firth, 
Adrian  was  almost  choked  in  his  sleep  through 
dreaming  that  the  dykes  had  broken,  and  that  the 
waves  were  suffocating  him.  I  merely  mention 
these  two  instances  out  of  many  that  occurred, 
to  illustrate  what  I  mean. 

"  Our  brotherly  love  for  each  other  was  strong  ; 
all  the  stronger,  perhaps,  because  of  this  strange 
mystery,  which  we  could  neither  account  for,  nor 
escape  from  —  nor  had  we  the  desire  to  do  so. 


22  DICK   RODNEY. 

"  Well,  I  had  been  with  this  schooner  on  what 
we  considered  an  unusually  long  voyage  —  so  far 
as  Bristol,  with  a  cargo  of  my  own  grain,  cheese, 
and  apples.  I  sold  them  well,  but  failed  to  get 
a  return  freight ;  and  after  being  damaged  in  a 
gale,  which  forced  us  to  run  under  a  jury  fore- 
mast into  Havre  de  Grace  for  repairs,  we  bore 
up  for  home,  and  after  a  six  months'  absence 
came  to  anchor,  in  a  dark  night,  when  the  wind 
was  blowing  fresh,  in  the  Zuid-vliet. 

"  We  were  close  in  shore  —  so  close  that  I 
could  see  over  the  level  land  the  light  that  burned 
in  my  own  comfortable  kitchen  ;  and  long  I 
remained  on  deck  looking  at  it,  for  I  knew  that 
my  dear  wife  and  aU  our  little  ones  were  there, 
and  that  in  the  corner  of  the  deep-arched  fire- 
place my  brother  Adrian  would  be  smoking  his 
long  pipe,  and  giving  our  youngest  boy,  little 
Jan,  a  ride  on  his  foot. 

"  They  would  be  talking  of  me  —  of  the 
schooner  and  her  crew,  who  were  aU  neighbors, 
—  little  thinking  we  were  so  near  them,  and  that 
our  anchor  had  fast  hold  of  the  soil  of  Wolfersdyck. 

"  My  heart  yearned  to  join  them  ;  but  the  hour 
was  late,  the  night  was  dark,  and  there  was  a 
heavy  sea  roUing  round  the  point  of  North  Beve- 
land  and  meeting  the  East  Scheldt,  so  there  was 
such  a  swell,  that  every  time  the  schooner's  head 
was  lifted,  I  thought  the  chain  cable  would  part, 
or  we  would  drag  our  anchor. 


THE    THEEE    WARNINGS.  23 

"  I  abandoned  all  intention  of  going  ashore  for 
that  night.  I  smoked  a  pipe,  took  a  glass  of 
Schiedam,  saw  all  made  snug  aloft  and  on  deck, 
and  read  a  chapter  of  the  Bible  to  my  crew.  We 
returned  thanks  to  Him  who  holds  the  great  deep 
in  the  hoUow  of  his  hand,  for  bringing  us  safely 
home  —  for  we  are  pious  in  our  own  quiet  way, 
we  Dutch  folks  —  and  then,  save  the  watch,  we 
aU  turned  in  for  the  night. 

"  I  had  been  asleep  in  the  larboard  berth,  there, 
for  about  an  hour,  when  I  awoke  suddenly  with 
an  undefinable  sensation  of  terror,  and  the  convic- 
tion that  some  one  was  in  the  cabin  near  me. 

" '  Who  is  there  ?  '  I  called  aloud  ;  but  receiv- 
ing no  answer,  and  hearing  only  the  creaking 
of  the  ship's  timbers  as  she  strained  on  the  chain 
cable,  and  the  gurgle  of  the  sea  alongside,  I 
dropped  asleep,  but  only  to  wake  again  with  a 
start,  a  shiver,  and  the  same  conviction  that  some 
one  was  near  me ! 

"  Drawing  back  that  little  curtain  on  the  brass 
rod,  I  looked  out. 

"  Through  the  two  little  stern  windows  the 
moon  was  shining,  but  with  sudden  gleams  of 
weird,  wan  light,  as  the  schooner  rose  and  sunk 
on  the  long  rollers  of  the  heavy  ground  swell. 
The  cabin  lamp  swung  to  and  fro  in  the  skylight, 
thus  I  could  see  plainly  enough  the  figure  of  a 
man  clad  like  a  Dutch  peasant,  standing  near  the 
table  at  which  we  are  now  seated,  but  I  could 


24  DICK   RODNEY. 

not  discern  his  features,  as  his  back  was  toward 
me. 

"  My  first  thought  was  of  thieves,  and  that 
some  schelms  from  the  shore  had  ventured  on 
board,  and  overpowered  the  anchor  watch. 

"  Snatching  a  cutlass  from  the  cleat  at  the 
bulkhead,  I  sprang  out  of  bed ;  but  at  that  mo- 
ment the  figure  disappeared  like  a  shadow! 

"  Surprised  and  disordered  by  this  incident,  I 
hastened  on  deck.  All  was  still  on  board.  The 
fore  and  aft  canvas  was  tight  in  its  brails ;  the 
chain -cable  was  taut  as  the  schooner's  head  lay 
to  the  slow,  deep  current  of  the  Scheldt ;  the 
watch  were  walking  to  and  fro ;  the  wind  was 
yet  blowing  freshly,  and  the  moon  was  on  the 
wane  behind  the  slender  spires,  the  gi'cat  wind- 
mills, and  the  flat,  dark  shore  of  Beveland ;  but 
I  could  see  at  Wolfersdyck  the  ruddy  light  that 
still  shone  from  the  window  of  my  own  farm- 
kitchen. 

"  At  such  a  time  this  seemed  strange.  Why 
were  they  not  all  a-bed  ? 

"  I  looked  at  my  watch.  The  hour  was  eleven  ; 
so,  believing  that  the  figure  I  had  seen  was 
merely  the  effect  of  fancy,  I  descended  to  the 
cabin,  once  more  turned  in,  and  fell  asleep,  the 
more  readily  that  I  had  sniffed  the  night  breeze 
which  came  from  the  land  and  sea  together. 

"  But  I  could  not  have  been  sleeping  more 
than  ten  minutes  when  I  awoke  with  a  nervous 


THE   THREE   WARNINGS.  25 

start,  and  with  the  same  undefinable  sensation 
of  terror.  Again  I  looked  into  the  cabin,  and 
there,  in  the  moonlight,  stood  the  same  man,  or 
figure  of  a  man,  near  the  table ! 

"  Anger  now  replaced  my  first  emotion  of  alarm; 
and  starting  from  bed,  I  hm'led  an  iron  marlin 
spike  at  the  person,  exclaiming  — 

"  '  Take  that,  whoever  you  are  ! ' 

"  The  man  seemed  to  fall  just  as  the  light  in 
the  cabin  lamp  sank  low.  I  rushed  toward  him, 
and  then,  as  his  prostrate  form  turned  slowly 
round,  the  dim  light  of  the  waning  moon  fell 
steadily  through  the  cabin  window  on  his  face ; 
and  oh,  what  saw  I  then  ? 

"  The  features  of  Adrian  —  of  my  brother  — 
but  pale,  ghastly,  pinched,  and  damp  with  the 
dews  of  death  ;  his  eyes  glazing  with  a  terrible 
expression  of  combined  affection  and  reproach, 
as  they  met  mine,  and  then  the  whole  seemed  to 
melt  away ;  the  lamp  went  out,  and  the  moon- 
light passed  away  too,  as  the  schooner's  stern  fell 
round  with  the  ebb  tide  —  the  usual  time  of  death. 

"I  was  alone  —  alone  in  the  dark  cabin — with 
terror  in  my  heart,  and  a  cold  perspiration  on  my 
brow. 

"  I  rushed  on  deck.  The  light  still  burned 
in  the  kitchen  window,  but  to  me  it  seemed 
brighter  than  before. 

"  '  Lower  the  boat,'  I  exclaimed, '  for  I  must 

3 


26  DICK   RODNEY. 

instantly  go  ashore  There  is  something  wrong 
at  home,  lads.' 

"  Fortunately  the  sea  and  wind  had  gone 
lown  together,  and  we  might  venture  to  land 
safely  now  ;  thus  the  boat  with  two  men  in  her, 
was  ready  almost  before  I  was  dressed. 

"  I  was  soon  ashore,  and  hastened  to  my  own 
house,  where,  as  none  knew  we  were  at  anchor  in 
the  Zuid-vliet,  my  arrival  was  quite  unexpected. 

"  I  found  my  household  astir  —  the  rooms  all 
lighted  up  as  for  a  festival ;  but,  alas,  what  a 
festival  it  was !  My  wife  threw  herself  into  my 
arms,  and  wept,  and  our  red-cheeked  little  ones 
clung  about  me  in  their  night  dresses,  as  I  was 
led  to  the  room  of  my  good  brother  Adrian,  who 
was  then  in  his  death  agony. 

"  '  Adrian,'  I  exclaimed,  throwing  myself  on 
my  knees  at  his  bedside,  '  tell  me  how  fares  it 
with  you  ?  '  * 

"  He  turned  his  ghastly  face  toward  me  with 
the  same  expression  of  affection  and  reproach, 
which  I  had  seen  in  the  face  of  the  vision  in  my 
cabin,  and  at  that  moment  his  last  breath  passed 
away ;  the  jaw  fell,  his  head  turned  on  one  side, 
and  a  mortal  pallor  spread  over  his  features. 

"  How  such  things  come  to  pass  I  can  no  more 
say  than  where  a  hurricane  begins,  or  where  it 
ends  ;  I  relate  but  the  events  as  they  happened. 

*  This  story  is  nearly  sire  ilar  to  one  wliicli  a  friend  related  to 
me  as  having  occun-ed  in  his  own  family  not  long  ago. 


THE  THBEE  WARNINGS.  27 

"  My  brother  was  dead,  and  I  becaine  stupe- 
fied! 

"  I  was  afterwards  told  that  a  fatal  fever  had 
seized  him,  and  that  he  had  been  given  over  by 
the  doctor  to  the  grim  king  at  the  very  time  we 
had  come  to  anchor  in  the  Zuid-vliet.  On  a 
further  comparison  of  notes,  we  found  that  he 
had  fallen  into  a  trance  at  each  time  I  had  been 
awakened  in  my  cabin  ;  and  that  at  the  moment 
I  had  thrown  the  marlinspike  (you  may  see  the 
mark  of  it  there  on  the  cabin  floor),  he  had 
uttered  my  name  with  a  cry  of  agony;  but 
Heaven  rest  him,"'  added  the  captain,  once  more 
filling  the  bowl  of  his  meerschaum,  "  he  lies  at 
rest  now  in  the  old  burying-ground  of  Smouts 
Kerk." 

Soon  after  Captain  Zeervogel  concluded  his 
narrative,  I  proposed  to  leave  the  schooner  and 
return  home  ;  but  he  said,  that  as  he  intended  to 
sleep  that  night  on  board,  and  as  the  crew  were 
all  ashore,  he  begged  that  I  would  have  the 
kindness  to  remain  in  the  cabin  for  a  few  min- 
utes until  he  returned  from  the  little  tavern  where 
they  were  located,  as  he  had  some  orders  to  give. 

"  The  tide  will  rise  higher  to-night  than  usual," 
he  added.  "  I  must  have  the  schooner  made 
more  secure  by  additional  warps,  else  there  is 
no  knowing  what  may  happen." 

I  could  not  in  courtesy  refuse,  though  in  no 
way  disposed   to  remain  in  that   gloomy  littl 


28  DICK  RODNEY. 

cabin,  after  the  ghostly  narrative  I  had  just 
heard ;  but  he  trimmed  the  lamp  anew,  as  if  to 
make  the  place  more  cheery,  and,  without  wait- 
ing for  an  answer,  went  on  deck.  I  heard  him 
descend  the  side-ladder ;  and,  as  he  passed  away, 
stumbling  among  the  logs  and  chips  of  the  little 
dockyard,  1  had  the  unpleasant  conviction  of 
being  alone — alone  in  the  confined  scene  of  his 
wild  story. 

My  watch  told  me  it  was  now  the  time  for 
supper  and  prayers  at  the  Rectory,  from  which  I 
had  been  too  long  absent.  Then  a  vague  emotion 
of  alarm  came  over  me,  as  I  expected  every  in- 
stant to  hear  some  unaccountable  sound,  or  to 
see  something  that  might  terrify  me ;  so,  to 
gather  "  Dutch  courage,"  I  very  unwisely  took 
one  or  two  more  of  Captain  Zeervogel's  peaches, 
which,  as  already  stated,  were  preserved  in 
brandy,  and  consequently  were  more  potent  in 
effect  than  the  spirit  itself. 

Dearly  did  I  pay  the  penalty  of  that  act  of  in- 
discretion ! 

I  listened  intently,  but  heard  no  sound  indica- 
tive of  the  captain's  return.  Once,  there  seemed 
to  come  a  cry  from  a  distance.  My  head  began 
to  swim  and  my  eyelids  to  droop.  The  fumes 
of  Zeervogel's  long  pipe,  which  pervaded  and 
made  closer  the  atmosphere  of  the  little  cabin, 
together  with  the  effect  of  the  peaches,  proved 
too  much  for  me. 


THE  THREE   WARNINGS.  29 

I  started  to  reach  the  companion  ladder  and 
ascend  on  deck  ;  but  my  limbs  seemed  to  be- 
come powerless  —  to  yield  under  me,  and  I  fell 
into  a  drowsy  doze,  with  my  head  and  arms  on 
the  cabin  table. 

The  captain  never  returned  ;  and  long  after,  I 
ascertained  that  the  poor  man  had  been  knocked 
down  by  some  unruly  "  navvies,"  that  the  cry  I 
heard  had  been  his,  that  he  had  been  robbed 
and  left  senseless  in  the  street  of  the  village, 
while  I  lay  asleep  in  the  cabin  of  the  empty 
schooner,  with  the  flood-tide  rising  rapidly  about 
her. 


s« 


30  DICK  RODNEY. 


CHAPTER   IV. 

HOW    I    GOT    ADRIFT. 

I  HAD  been  asleep  nearly  four  hours,  when  a 
fall  on  the  cabin  floor,  as  I  slipped  from  the  table, 
awoke  me. 

Stiff,  cold,  and  benumbed,  I  started  up,  con- 
fused to  find  myself  in  the  dark,  and  at  first  I 
knew  not  where. 

I  reeled,  and  fell  twice  or  thrice  in  efforts  to 
keep  my  feet,  for  now  the  schooner  was  rolling 
from  side  to  side  —  rolling  and  afloat ! 

"  Home — let  me  hasten  home,"  was  my  first 
thought.  I  scrambled  up  the  companion  ladder 
and  reached  the  deck,  to  find  water  around  me 
on  every  side,  while  the  schooner  being  without 
ballast  and  light  as  a  cork,  lay  almost  on  her 
beam  ends,  as  she  was  careened  by  a  heavy 
breeze  that  blew  from  the  shore,  the  fights  of 
which,  probably  Erlesmere,  I  could  see  about 
three  miles  distant. 

A  deadly  terror  fiUed  my  heart ! 

To  swim  so  far  was  impossible ;  I  dared  not 
leave  the  schooner,  even  with  a  spar  or  any  thing 
else  that  would  float,  as  the  wind  and  sea  were 
evidently  rising  together,  and  to  remain  on  board 


HOW   I    GOT   ADRIFT.  31 

was  almost  as  dangerous  and  hopeless.  I  had 
the  risk  of  drowning  by  her  capsizing,  or  lying 
on  her  beam  ends  in  the  water,  and  so  founder- 
ing and  going  down. 

A  plank  might  start  in  her  sheathing  —  she 
might  even  then  be  filling  by  some  uncaulked' 
leak  !  I  had  no  idea  of  the  state  of  her  hold,  and 
from  many  reasons  feared  she  might  sink  before 
daybreak,  and  before  my  perilous  situation  could 
be  discovered  from  the  shore. 

The  waves  were  black  as  ink ;  the  sky  was 
moonless  overhead,  but  the  pale,  white  stars 
winked  and  twinkled,  and  were  reflected  in  the 
trough  of  the  ocean.  Now,  I  could  perceive 
foam  cresting  the  tops  of  the  waves,  and  knew 
that  the  breeze  was  increasing  to  a  gale  —  a 
gale  that  was  blowing /rom  the  land. 

This  added  to  my  despair,  for  the  lights  I  had 
seen  soon  disappeared,  and  the  dark  outline  of 
the  coast  seemed  to  sink  lower  and  to  blend  with 
the  sea.  Clutching  the  weather  rigging,  I  could 
scarcely  keep  my  feet,  so  slippery  was  the  now 
wetted  deck,  and  so  cold  and  benumbed  were 
my  hands  and  arms  by  the  chill  atmosphere  of 
the  ocean,  and  by  the  salt  spray  which  ever  and 
anon  flew  over  me  in  bitter  briny  showers. 

I  shouted,  but  the  mocking  wind  bore  my 
voice  away  to  seaward.  With  despairing  eyes 
I  swept  the  dusky  water,  in  the  hope  of  seeing 
a  vessel,  a  fishing  boat,  or  the  light  of  a  steamer 
near  ;  but  gazed,  with  haggard  glance,  in  vain. 


32  DICK   RODNEY. 

I  had  no  hope  now  but  to  wait  for  dawn  of 
day  ;  and  when  it  came,  where  might  I  and  the 
empty  schooner  be  ?  Fortunately,  her  topmasts 
were  struck,  her  fore-yard  was  lowered,  and  all 
her  gear  made  tolerably  snug.  Her  canvas, 
however,  was  only  in  the  brails,  and  a  portion  of 
the  fore-and-aft  foresail  having  got  loose,  it  was 
swelled  out  by  the  blast,  and  kept  her  head  par- 
tially before  the  wind,  thus  accelerating  the  rate 
at  which  she  was  home  from  the  land,  and  being 
without  trimming  or  ballast,  she  danced  over  the 
waves,  as  I  have  said,  hke  a  cork,  but  in  mo- 
mentary danger  of  capsizing  and  foundering.  As 
dawn  di*ew  near,  the  cold  increased  so  much,  that 
though  at  the  risk  of  being  passed  unseen  by 
some  coaster,  I  was  fain  to  creep  on  my  hands 
and  knees  to  the  companion  hatch,  and  descend 
into  the  cabin. 

It  was  darker  now  than  ever,  for  the  lamp  had 
gone  out. 

The  memory  of  the  captain's  weird  story  made 
me  shudder.  His  words,  "  I  was  lying  in  the  lar- 
board berth  —  there,  on  the  cabin  floor,  I  struck 
the  figure  down,"  seemed  ever  in  my  ears,  and 
the  pale,  spectral  face  he  had  portrayed,  with  the 
moonbeams  streaming  on  its  ghastly  features  and 
glazing  eyes,  were  ever  before  me  in  the  dark 
filling  my  young  heart  with  a  chilling  horror. 

"  Oh  to  be  ashore  ! "  I  exclaimed  passionately, 
with  clasped  hands  ;  "  ashore,  and  free  from  this 
floating  prison ! " 


HOW  I   GOT  ADRIFT.  33 

I  thought  of  my  gentle  and  loving  mother,  and 
my  soul  seemed  to  die  within  me.  The  schooner 
would  be  missed  by  daybreak  —  the  alarm  would 
be  given  ;  her  alarm  would  rapidly  become  in-e- 
Diessible  anxiety,  which  would  soon  turn  to  a 
despair  that  nothing  could  alleviate. 

Sounds  like  thunder,  or  like  tremendous  blows, 
at  times  made  me  start.  These  w^ere  caused  by 
billets  of  wood,  mallets,  or  pieces  of  pig-iron, 
pitching  about  in  the  hold  of  the  schooner,  as  she 
rolled,  and  lurched,  and  righted  herself,  to  roll  and 
lurch  again. 

For  a  time  I  cowered  miserably  in  the  dark  cab- 
in, until  my  childish  fears  overmatched  reason, 
and  I  crept  once  more  upon  deck. 

A  regular  gale  was  blowing  now,  and  the 
schooner  careened  fearfully  beneath  it  on  her 
starboard  side,  while  the  bellying  of  that  portion 
of  the  fore-and-aft  foresail  which  had  got  loose 
aided  in  hurrying  her  faster  out  to  sea. 

The  light  of  the  coming  day  was  spread  in  dull 
gray  over  the  sky,  imparting  the  same  cold  tint 
to  the  whitening  waves.  Land  was  stiU  visible, 
but  it  seemed  like  a  dark  bank  at  the  horizon.  1 
supposed  it  to  be  about  ten  miles  distant,  but 
what  part  of  the  coast,  or  how  far  from  Erlesmere, 
I  knew  not. 

Now  I  began  to  be  assailed  by  that  illness, 
which  terror  and  anxiety  had  hitherto  but  par- 
tially repressed  —  a  violent  sea-sickness  in  all  its 


34  DICK   EODNET. 

horror.  Afraid  of  being  washed  from  the  deck 
over  which  the  waves  were  breaking  now,  once 
niore  I  crept  in  wretchedness  below. 

Before  descending,  I  cast  a  despairing  glance 
at  the  loosening  sail  which  still  caught  the  wind 
it  was  a  source  of  increasing  danger  which 
dared  not  attempt  to  remedy,  even  had  I  strength 
to  have  done  so,  for  the  wet  deck  was  now  slop- 
ing like  the  roof  of  a  house,  and  I  would 
assuredly  have  fallen  into  the  sea  to  leeward. 
After  several  feeble  efforts,  I  succeeded  in  par- 
tially closing  the  companion  hatch,  for  warmth 
and  security,  and  descending,  threw  myself  on 
the  cabin  floor,  sick  and  despairing. 

The  lurching  of  the  vessel,  the  closeness  of  the 
atmosphere,  and  general  odor  of  the  cabin,  over- 
powered me  at  last ;  I  became  fearfully  ill,  and 
from  being  so,  lapsed  into  unconsciousness,  after 
enduring  aU  the  wretchedness  induced  by  that 
ailment  of  the  ocean.  For  the  top  of  my  head 
seemed  about  to  fly  off",  its  sides  to  be  crushed 
in ;  there  was  a  singing  in  my  ears,  an  ache  in 
my  eyeballs ;  and  then  came  that  awful  sinking 
of  the  pulses,  of  the  body,  of  the  soul  itself, 
which  thousands  have  endm-ed  in  cases  of  ag 
gravated  sea-sickness,  but  none  have  been  able 
to  depict. 

In  short,  after  a  paroxysm  of  illness  and  tears, 
I  became  totally  unconscious  of  the  peril  and 
horror  of  my  situation,  and  found  a  refuge  in 
sleep. 


USELESS   REGRETS.  35 

CHAPTER   V. 

USELESS     REGRETS. 

I  MUST  have  lain  long  thus.  On  recovering; 
I  rose  more  stiff  and  more  benumbed  than  ever, 
and  with  feeble  steps  ascended  the  companion 
ladder,  and  then  a  cry  of  despair  escaped  me. 

The  sky  was  clear  and  sunny,  but  whether 
with  the  light  of  a  rising  or  a  setting  sun,  I  could 
not  at  first  determine,  morning  and  evening  on 
the  ocean  being  so  much  alike  to  an  unpractised 
eye.     Not  a  vestige  of  land  was  visible  ! 

Sea  and  sky  were  around  me ;  not  a  sail  was 
in  sight,  and  nothing  living  was  near,  save  a  few 
petrels  tripping  over  the  water,  alongside  of  the 
fatal  schooner. 

Had  I  slept  all  night,  and  was  this  the  dawn 
of  a  new  day  ?  Had  I  slept  all  day,  and  was 
this  the  approach  of  another  night  ?  I  devoutly 
hoped  not,  as  I  most  dreaded  night  upon  the 
ocean ;  but  the  gradual  sinking  of  the  sun,  and 
the  increasing  redness  of  the  sky,  ere  long  in- 
formed me  that  the  time  was  evening.  I  now 
Knew  the  west,  and  turned  my  haggard  eyes  to 
the  south,  for  there  the  land  and  my  home  lay ; 
but  still  the  envious  wind,  though  lighter  now 
seemed  to  \Ao\v  from  that  quarter. 


36  DICK   RODNEY. 

Oh  !  how  deeply  and  earnestly,  by  thoughts 
unuttered,  I  prayed  in  my  heart  that  it  would 
change  and  blow  toward  the  shore  —  any  shore 
—  or  any  part  of  the  coast  of  England,  and  bring 
me  so  near  that  I  might  have  a  chance  of  escape 
of  life  and  preservation  by  swimming  —  by  put 
ting  to  the  test  that  skill  and  those  powers  of 
activity  I  had  acquired  at  Eton,  in  the  waters  of 
the  Thames. 

The  sea  was  comparatively  smooth,  but  still 
the  empty  schooner  rolled  and  lurched  fearfully  ; 
the  more  so,  that  the  fore-and-aft  foresail  was 
hanging  so  loosely  in  the  brails. 

A  hundred  years  seemed  to  have  elapsed  since 
I  had  heard  the  dear  voices  and  seen  the  loved 
faces  of  those  I  had  left  at  home  —  of  my  father, 
my  mother,  of  Dot,  and  of  Sybil;  while  the  events 
of  my  early  schoolboy  days  seemed  to  have 
occurred  but  yesterday. 

All  time  was  chaos  and  confusion  ! 

In  my  sorrow  and  despair,  I  never  thought, 
unless  with  anger,  of  Jan  van  Zeervogel,  the 
poor  Dutch  skipper,  whose  interests  were  so 
much  involved  with  the  loss  or  safety  of  his  lit 
tie  schooner,  with  which  the  flood-tide  had  made 
so  free.  I  thought  only  of  my  own  danger,  and 
my  mother's  sorrow  for  the  mystery  that  would 
overhang  my  fate. 

Now  hunger  assailed  me,  creating  a  new  ter- 
ror lest  I  should  perish  by  want  of  food ;  and 


USELESS  REGRETS.  37 

all  I  had  read  or  heard  of  wrecks,  rafts,  and  cast- 
aways crowded  on  my  memory,  to  aggravate  the 
real  perils  M^hich  surrounded  me. 

Once  more  I  sought  the  cabin,  and  on  finding 
an  axe  broke  open  what  appeared  to  be  a  press  oi 
locker.  Therein  were  several  cups,  bottles,  and 
drinking  glasses,  placed  in  perforated  shelves ;  but 
nothing  eatable  save  a  single  hard  and  mouldy 
biscuit,  which  the  rats  abandoned  on  my  ap- 
proach, and  nothing  drinkable  save  the  remains 
of  the  brandy  in  which  the  peaches  had  been 
preserved — and  I  viewed  the  jar  with  horror,  as 
the  primary  cause  of  all  my  sufferings  and  dan- 
gers ; — I  say  the  remains,  for  it  had  fallen  from 
the  table  and  been  broken  to  pieces ;  so  nothing 
remained  of  its  contents,  except  about  a  gill  in 
a  fragment,  and  the  peaches  which  lay  in  the 
lee  or  lower  side  of  the  cabin. 

What  would  I  not  have  given  for  a  single 
drop  of  pure  cold  water,  to  alleviate  that  chok- 
ing thirst  which  is  ever  the  sequel  to  sickness, 
excitement,  and  sorrow !  But  there  was  not  a 
drop  on  board,  as  the  scuttle-butt  had  broken  its 
lashings,  in  one  of  the  lurches  of  the  schooner, 
and  fallen  overboard  to  leeward.  So  I  soaked 
the  mouldy  biscuit  in  the  brandy,  ate  it,  and 
went  on  deck,  in  time  to  see  the  sun  set  at  the 
watery  horizon,  from  whence  he  cast  a  long 
and  tremulous  line  of  yellow  splendor  along  the 
4 


38  DICK  RODNEY. 

dancing  waves,  to  where  the  schooner  floated 
in  her  loneliness. 

Night  followed,  and  one  by  one  the  stars  ap- 
peared In  the  mighty  blue  dome  overhead  ;  there 
was  no  moon  as  yet,  and  I  thought  of  hoisting 
a  light  at  the  mainmast  head,  but  where  were 
a  lantern  and  matches  to  be  found  ? 

I  thought  also  of  lifting  the  fore-hatch,  to  ex- 
plore the  fore-part  of  the  schooner,  but  I  felt 
too  feeble  and  sick  at  heart ;  and  now  with  the 
gloom  of  night  the  ghost-story  of  the  Dutch 
skipper  recurred  to  me. 

Thirst  was  now  becoming  an  agony,  and  I  in- 
haled the  dewy  atmosphere  in  vain,  for  its  prop- 
erty was  saline,  and  seemed  to  make  my  suffer- 
ings greater  ;  but  happily  it  induced  a  drowsiness. 
I  crept  below,  and  seeking  the  bed  in  the  cap- 
tain's berth,  drew  the  clothes  over  me  and  strove 
to  sleep — and  so  weary  was  I,  that  sleep  came. 

I  had  now  been  two  nights  and  a  day  on 
board  this  fatal  craft.  My  parents  and  my  sis- 
ters—  what  would  their  thoughts,  their  fears, 
their  sorrow  be ! 

In  my  sleep  their  voices  came  to  my  ear,  and 
I  felt  my  mother's  kiss  upon  my  cheek  so  palpa- 
bly, that  I  started  and  nearly  awoke. 

Then  old  Eton  came  before  me,  with  its  som- 
bre brick  quadrangles,  its  bronze  statue  of  King 
Henry  the  Sixth ;  the  ancient  college,  with  its  rich 
buttresses  and  carved  pinnacles,  and  the  great 


USELESS  KEGRETS.  39 

window,  past  which  the  Thames  sweeps  on  to 
London,  between  its  green  and  lovely  banks. 

The  old  monastic  hall,  and  then  the  Playing 
Fields  in  all  their  sunny  greenness,  shaded  by 
their  solemn  old  elm  trees,  recurred  to  me ;  then 
the  seclusion  of  the  library  where  I  had  spent 
many  an  hour ;  then  came  the  voices  of  my  old 
companions  at  cricket,  or  shouting  as  they  urged 
their  trim-built  skiffs,  with  the  murmur  of  the 
river,  the  familiar  toll  of  the  chapel  bell,  and  the 
voices  of  the  choristers,  aU  mingling  in  my  dream- 
ing ear,  as  with  a  "  drowsy  hum." 

Anon  I  seemed  to  hear  the  merry  English 
chime  of  beUs  ringing  in  the  old  square  tower  of 
Erlesmere  Rectory ;  but  they  sunk  amid  the  hiss 
and  gurgle  of  the  bitter  surf  and  the  moan  of  the 
midnight  sea. 

Now,  I  thought  how  rapturously  I  could  have 
clasped  my  dear  mother's  neck  !  How  gladly  I 
would  have  obeyed  my  poor  father  and  gone 
wherever  he  wished  me  —  even  to  my  uncle's 
dingy  counting-house  in  the  City,  there  to  spend 
the  remainder  of  my  existence,  if  fate  so  willed 
it,  on  a  tripod  stool,  chin-deep  among  red-edged 
ledgers,  invoices,  telegrams,  and  dockets  of  papers. 
I  endeavored  to  remember  all  my  parents  had 
taught  me  in  their  prayers  and  precepts,  and  how 
often  I  had  been  reminded  by  the  good  old  Rec- 
tor that  without  the  knowledge  of  Heaven  not 
even  a  sparrow  could  faU  to  the  ground ;  and  I 


40  DICK  RODNEY. 

thought  that  surely  I  must  be  worth  a  whole  army 
of  sparrows. 

From  these  dreams  and  ideas  —  I  must  have 
been   half  awake  —  I  was  roused  by  a  violent . 
lurch  of  the  schooner. 

On  reaching  the  deck,  I  found  that  a  gale  had 
again  come  on,  and  that  the  sea  was  whitened 
with  foam,  amid  which  the  sea-birds  were  blown 
wildly  hither  and  thither  ;  that  the  moon  was  now 
on  the  wane,  and  shed  a  cold,  weird  light  between 
the  black  masses  of  flying  scud,  upon  the  tumbhng 
billows  and  the  empty  schooner,  which  yet  floated 
buoyantly  enough.  But  she  now  careened  fear- 
fully to  port.  I  foresaw  that  unless  the  masts 
were  cut  away,  a  capsize  was  inevitable,  for  the 
wild  wind  howled  over  the  waste  of  seething 
water,  and  the  schooner  groaned  and  trembled  as 
wave  after  wave  thundered  on  her  empty  and  re- 
sounding hull. 

Notwithstanding  my  weakness,  I  endeavored 
to  tighten  the  brailing  of  the  fore  and  aft  foresail ; 
but  how  vain  was  the  attempt !  The  moment  I 
removed  the  rope  from  the  belaying  pin,  it  was 
torn  from  my  hand ;  the  whole  sail  fell  heavily 
loose,  and  swelled  out  upon  the  wind.  It  flapped 
with  a  sound  like  thunder  in  the  blast,  and  in  a 
moment,  the  deck  seemed  to  pass  from  under 
my  feet,  and  I  was  struggling  alone  in  the  mid- 
night sea. 

To  the  horror  of  being  drowned  was  now  added 
that  of  being  devom'ed  by  the  fishes. 


USELESS   REGRETS.  41 

A  cry  to  heaven  escaped  me,  as  I  rose  panting 
and  almost  breathless,  and  struck  out  to  prolong 
existence.  The  sea  repelled  and  buoyed  me  up, 
for  it  is  by  no  means  so  easy  to  sink  as  many  per- 
sons imagine. 

The  schoonei^was  lying  now  completely  on  her 
beam  ends  to  port ;  her  masts  and  half  her  deck, 
were  in  the  water.  It  had  filled  the  belly  of  the 
loosened  sail,  and  served  to  keep  her  steady  ;  but 
still  the  waves  washed  wildly  over  the  hull.  I 
knew  she  must  soon  fill  and  go  down ;  yet  so 
atrong  is  the  instinct  of  self-preservation,  that  I 
soon  reached  the  foremast,  climbed  into  the  now 
horizontal  rigging,  and  seated  myself  on  the  row 
of  dead-eyes,  through  which  the  shrouds  are  rove, 
clutching  them  with  wild  tenacity,  while  drenched, 
cold,  and  despairing. 

The  spray  flew  over  me,  thick  as  rain,  but  bit- 
ter, heavy,  and  blinding. 

How  long  I  could  have  survived,  I  know  not ; 
but  I  felt  as  one  in  a  dreadful  dream,  and  acted 
with  the  decision  and  firmness  with  which  we 
often  seem  to  acquit  ourselves  amid  the  most 
fantastic  situations  created  by  the  fancy  in  sleep. 
Suddenly,  amid  the  stupor  that  was  coming 
over  me,  I  heard  a  voice  and  saw  a  large  brig 
looming  between  me  and  the  pale  waning  moon. 
She  was  close  by,  with  her  courses,  topsails,  jib, 
and  fore-and-aft  mainsail  set,  but  with  her  fore- 
yard  laid  to  the  wind  as  she  lay  to.     Then  I 

4  * 


42  DICK  RODNEY. 

heard  the  rattle  of  the  blocks  and  tackle,  as  a  boat 
descended  from  the  stern  davits  with  a  splash 
into  the  sea. 

"  Cheerily,  now,  my  lads,  give  way !  "  cried  the 
voice  I  had  heard  before  ;  "  pull  to  windward 
round  this  craft,  and  overhaul  her." 

"  There's  a  man  in  the  fore-rigging  I  "  cried 
another. 

"  Then  stand  by  in  the  bow  with  the  boat-hook." 

I  strove  to  speak,  to  shout ;  but  my  voice  was 
gone. 

"  Spring  into  the  sea,"  cried  a  voice ;  "  do  you 
hear  me,  you  sir  —  you  in  the  fore-rigging  there  ? 
Jump  in  ;  we  cannot  sheer  alongside  a  craft  that 
pitches  about  like  a  cork  in  such  a  sea  as  this." 

"  Don't  fear,  my  lad,"  cried  others  ;  "  we'll  pick 
vou  up." 

But  I  was  powerless,  blinded  by  spray  ;  and 
though  unable  to  respond,  clutched  the  rattlins 
with  fatuous  energy.  Then  strong  hands  were 
laid  upon  me,  and  I  felt  myself  dragged  into  the 
ooat. 

"  Shove  off,  shove  off —  give  way !  this  craft 
;vill  sink  in  a  minute,"  cried  some  one  ;  "  give 
way  for  the  brig ! "  and  just  as  they  turned  the 
aead  of  the  boat  toward  their  vessel,  the  Dutch 
schooner  appeared  to  right  herself;  there  was  a 
crash  as  her  deck  burst  up,  and  then  a  sob 
seemed  to  mingle  with  the  air  that  was  expelled 


USELESS   REGRETS.  43 

from  her  hold  as  she  filled  and  went  down  like 
a  stone. 

Though  I  had  been  so  long  unseen,  I  after- 
wards learned  that  at  this  time  there  were  not 
'ess  than  fifteen  sail  in  sight  of  the  vessel  which 
picked  me  up. 


44  DICK  RODNEY. 


CHAPTER   VL 


THE    EUGENI  E. 


After  being  conveyed  on  board,  hot  brandy 
punch  was  readily  administered  to  me ;  all  my 
wet  clothes  were  taken  off,  and  I  was  put  into  a 
snug  berth,  the  cosy  warmth  of  which,  together 
with  the  effect  of  the  steaming  punch  —  "  a  stiff 
nor'-wester,"  as  I  heard  it  called  —  and  the  toil 
and  misery,  mental  and  bodily,  I  had  undergone, 
all  conduced  to  give  me  a  long  and  almost 
dreamless  slumber.  Thus  the  noon  of  the  next 
day  was  far  advanced  before  I  awoke  to  the 
realities  of  life  and  a  consideration  of  the  awk- 
ward predicament  in  which  I  was  placed. 

I  had  been  picked  up  by  the  Eug-enie,  a  new 
brig  of  two  hundred  and  fifty  tons  register,  "  cop- 
pered to  the  bends,  and  standing  A  1  at  Lloyds," 
as  I  was  informed  by  Samuel  Weston,  her  mas- 
ter. He  added  that  she  had  a  crew  of  twelve 
hands,  men  and  boys,  exclusive  of  Marc  Hi  slop, 
the  mate,  and  Tattooed  Tom,  his  assistant,  and 
that  the  brig  had  the  reputation  of  being  one  of 
the  best  sailing  vessels  out  of  London. 

The  morning  was  fine  and  warm ;  the  skylight 


THE  EUGENIE.  45 

was  open,  and  a  pleasant  current  of  air  passed 
through  the  clean  wainscotted  cabin.  A  spotless 
white  cloth  was  on  the  table,  across  which  there 
were  lashed  certain  bars  of  wood,  technically 
termed  a  fiddle,  to  keep  the  plates  and  glasses 
from  falling  to  leeward;  and  on  looking  from 
my  curtained  berth  (for  I  was  not  permitted  to 
rise),  I  saw  the  captain  and  mate  at  lunch  over 
brandy  and  water,  biscuits  and  cheese ;  and  busy 
the  while  with  charts  and  compasses,  as  they 
were  comparing  their  nautical  notes  and  obser- 
vations. 

The  brig  seemed  to  be  running  steadily 
through  the  water  upon  the  starboard  tack,  and 
I  could  hear  the  gurgle  of  the  sea  under  her 
counter,  as  it  bubbled  away  in  the  wake  astern 
—  in  fact,  the  sound  seemed  to  be  just  a  foot 
above  my  ear,  realizing  the  terrible  idea  that  there 
was  "  only  a  plank  between  me  and  eternity." 

Captain  Samuel  Weston  was  a  well-made 
man  of  the  middle  height,  and  somewhere  about 
forty  years  of  age.  He  was  rather  grave  than 
jovial  in  manner,  but  pleasant,  kind,  and  gentle- 
manly. There  was  nothing  about  him  that  par- 
ticularly indicated  the  seaman,  and  he  never 
used  startling  adjectives,  or  according  to  the  pro- 
verbial idea  interlarded  his  conversation  with 
obscure  nautical  phraseology. 

He  wore  a  short  pea-coat  with  brass  buttons, 
and  a  straw  hat.     A  handsome  gold  ring  secured 


46  DICK   RODNEY. 

his  necktie,  and  the  fag-end  of  a  cheroot  was  be- 
tween his  teeth.  He  was  exactly  portrayed  thus 
in  his  colored  calotype,  which  was  framed  and 
screwed  into  the  bulkhead.  Close  by  it  was  an- 
other of  a  lady,  with  a  little  boy,  standing  at  the 
base  of  a  column,  which  of  course  had  a  crimson 
curtain  festooned  behind  it ;  and  they,  I  had  no 
doubt,  were  his  wife  and  child.  So  Captain 
Samuel  —  or  as  he  preferred  to  call  himself — 
Sam  Weston  was  more  domestic  in  his  tastes 
than  those  who  usually  live  by  salt  water  are 
supposed  to  be. 

Neither  was  there  any  thing  particularly  nau- 
tical in  the  appearance  of  the  mate,  who  was  a 
smart  and  athletic  young  fellow,  about  five-and- 
twenty  years  of  age,  with  somewhat  of  a  Glas- 
gow accent,  keen  gray  eyes,  and  sandy-colored 
hair ;  and  he  it  was  (though  I  was  not  aware  of 
it  then,  or  for  long  after)  who  boldly  plunged  into 
the  stormy  sea,  and  swam  to  the  foundering 
schooner,  and  finding  that  I  could  neither  under- 
stand nor  obey  his  instructions,  had  made  a  line 
fast  to  my  waist,  and  thus  conveyed  me  safely 
into  the  boat ;  so  to  this  young  Scotsman  I  owed 
my  life  and  a  debt  of  gratitude. 

On  perceiving  that  I  was  awake,  a  hand-bell 
was  rung  by  the  captain,  and  hot  coffee,  accom- 
panied by  the  last  slice  of  shore-bread  that  re- 
mained was  brought  to  me  by  Billy,  the  cabin- 
boy,  and  then,  after  a  time,  I  was  requested  to 


THE  EUGENIE.  47 

state  what  craft  that  was  from  which  I  had  been 
taken,  my  name,  and  so  forth,  that  Mr.  Hi  slop 
might  enter  all  the  particulars  among  the  "  re- 
marks "  in  his  log-book. 

I  soon  satisfied  them  as  to  all  this. 

"  And  where  am  I  now  ?  "  I  inquired. 

"  Pretty  far  out  upon  the  open  sea,  my  lad," 
replied  the  captain  with  a  smile,  as  he  threw  the 
end  of  his  cheroot  into  the  empty  grate. 

"  The  open  sea  —  still  the  open  sea!  "  I  reiter- 
ated with  dismay,  which  I  cared  not  to  conceal. 

"  Yes  ;  we  saw  the  last  glimpse  of  the  rugged 
Start  on  the  day  before  yesterday,  and  this  morn- 
ing, just  an  hour  before  picking  you  up,  we  bade 
good-by  to  old  England,  for  the  Lizard  Light 
was  bearing  —  you  had  the  dead  watch,  Hislop  ; 
how  did  it  bear  ?  " 

"  About  twelve  miles  off,  on  the  weather  quar- 
ter." 

"  How  shall  I  return  home  ?  " 

They  both  laughed  as  I  despairingly  made  this 
inquiry. 

"  By  the  way  you  left  it,  I  suppose  ;  that  is  by 
water,"  said  Captain  Weston. 

"  You  spoke  of  the  Start ;  what  is  that  ?  " 

"  A  cape  of  the  Channel,  on  the  south-east 
coast  of  Devonshire,  about  nine  miles  to  the 
southward  of  Dartmouth,"  he  replied,  while  cast- 
ing a  casual  glance  at  a  chart  which  lay  on  the 
table. 


48  DICK   RODNEY. 

I  had  thus,  before  being  rescued  so  providen- 
tially, drifted  more  than  a  hundred  miles  from 
Erlesmere,  and  it  was  marvellous  that  the 
schooner  had  floated  so  far  unseen. 

"  That  lubberly  old  Dutchman,  Zeervogel, 
should  have  made  his  craft  secure,  by  mooring 
her  so  that  the  flood-tide  could  not  have  floated 
her  off"  shore.  But,"  added  the  captain,  laughing, 
he  may  have  a  clear  case  of  barratry  against  you, 
if  you  ever  return  to  England." 

"  Barratry  —  what  is  that  ?  "  I  asked,  with  a 
bewildered  air. 

"  A  landshark's  phrase  for  running  away  with  a 
ship  —  carrying  her  out  of  her  course  —  sinking  or 
deserting  her  ;  or  doing  any  thing  by  which  she 
may  be  aiTested,  detained,  or  lost." 

"  But  the  schooner  ran  away  with  me." 

"  And  the  sea  with  you  both.  Well,  what  is 
to  be  done  now  ?  We  are  bound  for  the  West 
Indies,  but  we  may  put  you  aboard  the  first  craft 
that  passes  us,  homeward-bound  ;  or  you  are  free 
to  remain,  if  we  cannot  do  better  for  you." 

I  thought  of  my  mother,  of  my  father,  my  two 
sisters  ;  and  my  heart  was  so  fuU  of  gratitude  to 
Heaven  for  preserving  me  to  the  end,  that  I  migh 
see  and  embrace  them  all  again,  that  I  had  no 
words  to  reply.     After  a  time  I  exclaimed  — 

"  Home,  home !  —  let  me  go  home  to  Erles- 
mere ! "  —  weeping  as  I  spoke,  for  the  thought 
of  them  all  made  me  a  very  child  again. 


THE    EUGENIE.  49 

The  captain  and  mate  exchanged  glances  of 
mquiry. 

"  It's  no  use  piping  your  eye  now,  my  lad," 
said  the  former,  coming  toward  my  berth ;  "  but 
answer  me  quietly.  You  said  that  your  name 
was  Rodney  ?  " 

«  Yes." 

"  And  you  spoke  of  Erlesmere  ;  are  you  a  son 
of  old  Dr.  Rodney,  the  rector  ?  " 

"  Do  you  know  my  father,  then?  "  I  exclaimed. 

"  Can't  say  exactly  that  I  have  the  honor  of 
being  known  to  him ;  but  I  know  of  him,  right 
well.  Why,  Master  Rodney,  I  have  sailed  your 
uncle's  ships  many  a  time,  and  know  his  gloomy 
old  office  in  the  city,  as  well  as  the  buoy  at  the 
Nore  ;  so  you  are  as  safe  and  as  welcome  aboard 
the  Eugenie  as  if  in  the  old  Rectory-house  at 
home." 

This  was  pleasant  intelligence,  at  aU  events ; 
but  my  earnest  desire  was  to  return —  a  design 
which  was  not  fated  to  be  speedily  gratified. 

"  The  pain  which  is  first  felt  when  the  infant 
branch  is  first  torn  from  the  parent  tree,"  says 
Southey,  in  a  passage  of  great  beauty,  "  is  one 
of  the  most  poignant  we  have  to  endure  through 
ife  ;  there  are  other  griefs  which  wound  more 
deeply,  which  leave  behind  them  scars  never  to 
be  effaced,  which  bruise  the  spirit  and  sometimes 
break  the  heart,  —  but  never,  never  do  we  feel  so 

5 


50  DICK  KODNET. 

much  the  want  of  love,  and  the  keen  necessity 
of  being  loved,  as  when  we  are  first  launched 
from  the  haven  of  our  boyhood,  into  the  wide 
and  stormy  sea  of  life ! " 

I  felt  the  ivrench  of  this  separation  in  all  its  in- 
tensity for  a  time,  and  longed  for  the  means  of 
returning  home  ;  but  for  several  days  we  passed 
only  outward  bound  vessels,  or  others  which 
were  at  such  a  distance  that  the  task  of  signal- 
ling and  speaking  with  them  would  have  delayed 
the  Engenie  longer  than  Captain  Weston  could 
risk.  Two  that  passed  near  us,  when  we  showed 
our  ensign,  replied  by  displaying  the  tricolor  of 
France  or  the  red  and  yeUow  bars  of  Spain;  so 
there  was  nothing  for  me  now  but  to  remain  con- 
tentedly on  board  the  Eugenie,  which  was  bound 
for  Matanzas  with  a  sohd  cargo  of  steam  ma- 
chinery and  coal. 

The  master  had  no  doubt  of  getting  a  return 
freight  direct  for  London ;  thus  six  or  eight 
months  might  elapse  before  I  could  return  to 
Erlesmere. 

My  wardrobe  was  now  in  the  most  deplorable 
condition  ;  but  Weston  and  Hislop,  the  first  mate, 
kindly  supplied  me  with  all  that  was  requisite  — 
"  clothes  and  shirts  for  running  rigging,"  as  the 
latter  said,  "  with  twenty  sovereigns  for  main- 
stays, which  were  sure  to  be  weU  kept,  as  we 
were  on  board  ship." 


THE   EUGENIE.  51 

I  gradually  became  reconciled  to  the  novelty 
of  my  situation ;  I  looked  forward  hopefully  to 
the  time  when  the  sorrow  of  those  I  had  left  be- 
hind would  be  alleviated,  and  began  to  enjoy  to 
the  utmost  the  prospect  of  a  voyage  in  a  spank 
ing  brig  to  the  shores  of  Cuba. 


52  DICK  KODNET. 


CHAPTER    VII. 

THE     SCOTCH    MATE'S    YARN. 

Could  I  have  anticipated  all  that  was  stiU  be- 
fore me,  in  the  form  of  suffering  and  of  peril  — 
suffering  enough  to  shatter  a  stronger  frame  and 
shake  a  stouter  heart  than  mine  —  I  would  have 
returned  in  any  vessel  bound  for  any  part  of  Eu- 
rope, and  trusted  to  Providence  for  the  means  of 
again  reaching  home,  rather  than  have  remained 
in  the  Eugenie. 

But  who  can  lift  the  veil  which  so  happily 
hides  the  future  from  us  ? 

So  I  turned  my  thoughts  toward  the  West  In- 
dies with  pleasure  ;  I  resolved  not  to  be  an  idler 
or  loblolly  boy,  and  was  allowed  by  Captain 
Weston  to  take  my  watches  and  share  of  deck 
duty  with  the  rest  of  the  crew  ;  and  at  intervals, 
I  worked  hard  at  a  Spanish  grammar  with  Marc 
Hislop,  who  could  read  Don  Quixote  in  the  origi- 
nal, with  a  fluency  that  even  my  old  tutor  at 
Eton  might  have  envied. 

We  were  now  clear  of  the  Channel ;  and, 
after  a  hard  battle  with  the  wind  and  sea,  we  felt 
the  long  roll  of  the  mighty  Atlantic. 


THE   SCOTCH  MATE'S   TARN.  53 

On  the  third  night  after  my  rescue,  we  encoun- 
tered dark  and  cloudy  weather,  with  a  strong 
gale,  which  set  all  the  cabin  afloat.  My  watch 
was  over,  and  I  had  just  turned  in,  when  I  heard 
the  voice  of  Captain  Weston  who  was  on  deck, 
ehouting  through  his  trumpet  to  "  close  reef  tlis 
naintopsaU,  hand  the  mainsail,  foresail,  and  fore 
topsail.  Look  aUve  there,  lads,"  he  added,  "  or 
as  sure  as  my  name  is  Sam  Weston,  I'll  give  the 
colt  to  the  last  man  off  the  deck !  " 

This  threat,  so  unusual  in  one  so  good-natured, 
together  with  the  bellowing  of  the  wind,  the 
flapping  of  the  wetted  canvas,  the  rattle  of  the 
blocks  and  cordage,  and  the  laboring  of  the  brig, 
which  was  so  deeply  laden  that  every  timber 
groaned,  all  gave  such  indications  of  a  rough 
night,  that  I  sprang  from  my  berth,  and  pro- 
ceeded to  dress  again  in  haste. 

To  my  astonishment,  at  that  moment  I  heard 
the  hoarse  rattle  of  the  chain  cable,  as  it  rushed 
with  a  roaring  sound  through  the  iron  mouth  of 
the  hawse  hole ;  then  I  was  sensible  of  a  violent 
shock,  which  made  the  brig  stagger,  and  tumbled 
me  headlong  against  the  panelled  bulk-head 
which  separated  the  cabin  from  the  after-hold. 

Hislop,  who  had  been  dozing  on  the  cabin- 
locker  in  his  storm  jacket,  started  up  with  alarm 
in  his  face. 

"  Have  we  come  to  anchor  ?  "  I  asked. 

"  Anchor  in  more  than  three  hundred  fathoms 

5* 


54  DICK  RODNEY. 

of  water?  "  he  exclaimed,  as  he  rushed  on  deck, 
whither  I  followed,  and  found  that  a  very  strange 
incident  had  occurred. 

In  the  murky  obscurity  of  the  stormy  night,  a 
large  Dutch  lugger,  in  ballast  apparently,  and 
running  right  before  the  wind,  with  steering  can- 
vas set,  came  suddenly  athwart  us,  and  hooked 
the  anchor  from  the  cathead  on  our  larboard  bow 
—  by  some  unwonted  neglect  it  was  not  yet  on 
board,  nor  had  the  cable  been  unbent  —  with  her 
starboard  fore-rigging,  and  thus  bore  away  with 
it,  until  the  chain  came  tn  bear,  when  there  was 
a  tremendous  shock.  Several  feet  of  our  bul- 
wark were  torn  away,  and  two  seamen,  Tattooed 
Tqm,  and  an  old  man-o'- war's  man  named  Rob- 
erts, were  nearly  swept  into  the  sea,  where,  in 
such  a  night,  and  amid  the  confusion  of  such  an 
incident,  they  would  inevitably  have  perished 
unaided. 

Then  we  heard  a  shout,  mingled  with  a  crash 
upon  the  bellowing  wind,  as  the  Dutchman's 
foremast  snapped  by  the  board,  and  then,  fortu- 
nately, our  anchor  tumbled  from  his  side  into  the 
sea,  where  it  swung  at  the  whole  length  of  the 
chain  cable. 

We  manned  both  windlass  and  capstan  —  got 
the  anchor,  which  was  drifting,  roused  to  the 
cathead,  hoisted  it  on  board,  unbent  the  cable, 
and  stowed  it  in  the  tier ;  but  long  ere  all  this 
was   done,  we   had  lost  sight  of  our  lubberly 


THE   SCOTCH   MATE'S   YARN.  55 

friend,  who,  when  last  seen,  was  tossing  about 
like  a  log  in  the  darkness,  and  drifting  far  astern 
of  us.  But  for  some  defect  in  the  pawls  and 
notches  of  the  windlass  collar,  I  am  doubtful  if 
the  chain  would  have  run  out  so  freely ;  but  as 
to  this  I  cannot  say. 

We  had  hard  squalls  and  a  sea  that  ran  high 
until  daybreak ;  there  was  lightning  too ;  red 
and  dusky,  it  seemed  at  times  to  fill  the  whole 
horizon.  We  could  see  for  an  instant  the  black 
summits  of  the  waves  as  they  rose  and  fell  be- 
tween us  and  the  glare ;  and  when  it  passed 
away,  all  again  would  be  obscurity  and  gloom. 

"  More  canvas  must  be  taken  off  the  brig,  sir," 
suggested  Hislop,  looking  aloft  and  then  over  the 
side,  where  the  foam-flecked  sea  whirled  past  us. 

"  Well,  in  with  the  trysail,  foretopsail,  and 
maintopsail,"  ordered  Weston. 

As  the  Kght  of  dawn  stole  over  the  angry  sea, 
through  clouds  of  mingled  mist  and  rain,  the  gale 
abated,  and  all  but  the  watch  went  below. 

"  That  lugger  making  off  with  our  anchor," 
said  Hislop,  "  reminds  me  of  how,  after  we  failed 
to  run  off  with  a  whale,  he  fairly  ran  off  with  us" 

"  How  ? "  said  I,  my  teeth  chattering  as  I 
tucked  myself  into  bed  again. 

"  You  must  know,  that  about  ten  years  ago  I 
was  an  apprentice  aboard  a  smaL  whaler,  a 
ninety-ton  schooner,  out  of  Peterhead.  We  were 
returning  in  very  low  spirits  after  an  unsuccess- 
ful voyage,  and,  by  stress  of  weather,  were  forced 


66  DICK   RODNEY. 

toward  the  rocky  and  dangerous  coast  of  Nor- 
way, wliere  we  came  to  anchor  one  evening  in  a 
solitary  bay,  among  the  rugged  islets  which  stud 
the  mouth  of  the  Hardanger-iiord,  to  repair  some 
trifling  damages.  As  day  broke,  there  was  a 
shout  raised  by  the  watch  on  deck. 

" '  A  whale !  —  a  whale !  —  in  the  shoal  wa- 
ter!' 

"  And  there,  sure  enough,  far  up  the  bay,  we 
saw  one  sporting  and  gambolling,  blowing  and 
diving ;  and  though  it  was  a  kind  of  robbery, 
perhaps,  we  resolved  to  make  a  dash  at  him,  for 
the  place  was  lonely,  and  not  a  Norwegian  eye 
upon  us  —  not  a  house  upon  the  shore,  nor  a 
man  upon  the  mountains,  so  far  as  we  could 
discern  by  our  glasses. 

"  The  boats  were  cleared,  the  harpoons  pre- 
pared, the  lines  were  coiled  away  in  the  tubs, 
and  the  schooner  was  hove  short  on  her  anchor ; 
but  just  as  we  lowered  the  whaling-punts,  down 
dived  oiu:  fish,  tail  uppermost,  and  then  we  knew 
that  he  was  searching  for  his  favorite  food,  of 
which  plenty  is  to  be  found  in  these  Norwegian 
fiords." 

"  What  is  it  ?  "  said  I. 

"  A  kind  of  small  salt-water  snail,  and  the  me- 
dusa, or  sea-blubber.  As  you  have  been  at  Eton, 
you  must  have  read  all  about  it  in  Linnceus^'' 
continued  our  learned  Scotch  mate.  "Just  as 
the  first  boat  was  lowered,  the  schooner  received 
a  shock  so  violent  that  her  masts  strained  almost 


THE   SCOTCH   MATE'S   YARN.  57 

to  snapping ;  her  bows  were  dragged  down  till 
her  billet-head  dipped  in  the  water,  and  every 
thing  and  everybody  en  deck  went  toppling  and 
tumbling  forward  in  a  heap  about  the  windlass 
bitts.  Then  a  shower  of  bloody  spray  fell  over 
us  as  the  craft  righted  again,  but  with  such  vio- 
lence that  the  water  splashed  under  the  counter 
and  over  the  quarter.  Then  she  was  torn 
through  the  sea  at  the  rate  of  thirty  knots  an 
hour! 

"  We  had  scarcely  time  to  form  an  idea,  or  to 
utter  an  exclamation,  either  of  surprise  or  fear, 
when  we  saw,  a  cable's  length  right  ahead,  an 
immense  whale,  the  same  fish  we  were  preparing 
to  attack,  rushing  through  the  waves  with  rail- 
way speed,  and  dragging  us  after  him  by  our 
anchor,  of  the  flukes  of  which  he  had  somehow 
run  foul  in  his  gambols  down  below." 

"  What !  do  you  mean  to  say  that  the  whale 
ran  off  with  the  schooner?"  I  exclaimed,  in 
astonishment. 

"Just  as  a  scared  dog  runs  away  with  a  kettle 
at  his  tail.  It  was  one  of  the  blunt-headed 
cachalots,  about  sixty  feet  long.  They  are  the 
most  hideous  fish  of  the  whole  whale  species, 
having  a  head  that  is  enormously  thick,  and  one 
third  of  their  entire  size,  the  spout-hole  being  at 
the  fore  end  of  it. 

"  In  less  time  than  I  have  taken  to  tel  you  all 
this,  we  were  dragged  ©ut  of  the  fiord  ;  its  rocks 
of  black  basalt  and  its  sombre  pine  woods  les- 


58  DICK  RODNEY. 

sened  astern ;  its  entrance  seemed  to  close  like  a 
gate  as  it  blended  with  the  coast;  and  the 
schooner,  with  her  loose  foretopsail  all  aback 
against  the  mast,  was  dragged  in  the  wind's  eye 
(whales  usually  swim  so)  for  more  than  twenty 
miles  out  to  sea.  Then  the  cachalot  raised  ita 
mighty  head  about  ten  feet  from  the  water, 
spouted  a  jet  of  froth  into  the  air,  and  disappear- 
ing, sunk,  leaving  our  anchor  swinging  or  drift- 
ing in  the  deep  water,  at  the  full  length  of  the 
chain  cable." 

"  And  how  came  all  this  about  ? "  I  asked, 
dubiously. 

"  Incredible  as  it  may  appear,  this  monstrous 
cachalot,  while  running  along  the  sandy  bottom 
of  the  bay,  with  mouth  distended,  in  search  of 
sea-blubber,  had  by  some  means  uprooted  our 
anchor,  though  five  hundred  weight,  by  his  nether 
jaw,  and  so  carried  it  off  with  eighty  fathoms 
of  cable,  and  us  at  the  other  end  of  it.  And  now, 
Dick  Rodney,  what  do  you  think  of  that  for  a 
yarn  ?  " 

"  I  think  with  Polonius,  in  Hamlet"  said  1, 
yawning,  and  turning  wearily  in  my  berth, 
through  the  yolk  or  bull's-eye  of  which  the  gray 
light  of  day  was  now  struggling. 

"  That  it  is  very  like  a  whale,  eh  ?  " 

"  Yes." 

"  And  so  do  I,"  said  Hislop,  laughing ;  "  but 
though  a  close  laid  yarn,  it  is  a  true  one,  never- 
theless." 


VOYAGE   CONTINUED.  59 


CHAPTER    VIII. 

VOYAGE     CONTINUED. 

I  FOUND  the  captain  and  mate  of  the  Eugenie 
both  pleasant  and  instructive  companions. 

The  latter,  like  the  generality  of  his  country- 
men, was  well  educated  ;  he  was  tolerably  read 
in  classical  lore,  and  knew  all  the  current  litera- 
ture of  the  day  ;  thus  his  little  state-room  was  so 
crammed  with  books,  that  he  had  scarcely  room 
to  move  in  it.  Like  many  other  Scotchmen  of 
humble  bu-th  or  limited  means,  Mark  Hislop  had 
educated  himself,  beyond  what  schools  or  teach- 
ers could  have  done.  Though  usually  quiet  in 
disposition,  he  was  sometimes  impatient,  and 
more  than  once  I  have  seen  him  snatch  from  his 
pocket  a  colt  (a  piece  of  knotted  rope  eighteen 
inches  long)  for  the  special  benefit  of  the  ship- 
boys,  of  whom  we  had  three  on  board. 

He  was  so  learned  on  the  theory  and  law  of 
storms,  with  the  practical  exposition  thereof,  and 
could  talk  so  fluently  about  straight,  circular,  and 
parallel  winds,  storm-waves,  and  storm-focuses, 
the  height  of  a  cyclone,  and  speed  of  a  hurricane, 
that  honest  Sam  Weston,  the  captain  and  Tom 


60  DICK   RODNEY. 

Lambourne,  the  second  mate,  wondered  what  it 
was  all  about ;  as  they  had  weathered  many  a 
gale  without  ever  cariijg  a  jot  about  the  theory 
or  law  of  them,  or  without  ever  troubling  their 
brains  about  where  the  wind  came  from,  and  still 
less  about  where  it  iveiit  to. 

Among  other  things,  Hislop  had  a  photo- 
graphic apparatus,  by  which  he  took  the  aspect 
of  the  sea  by  moonlight  and  daylight,  and  all  our 
likenesses,  in  groups  or  otherwise.  Tattooed 
Tom  Lambourne,  who  had  once  been  adrift  in 
the  bush  somewhere,  and  been  decorated  with 
certain  ineffaceable  marks  by  the  natives,  came 
out  famously  in  these  artistic  efforts,  as  he  was 
aU  over  stripes,  like  a  zebra  or  a  New  Zealander. 

Calm  weather  and  heavy  rains  succeeded  the 
gale  I  have  mentioned  ;  but  the  Eugenie  steadily 
kept  her  course,  and  two  days  after,  when  spank- 
ing along  before  a  fine  topgallant  breeze,  we 
picked  up  a  bottle,  which  was  descried  by  the 
watch,  floating  and  bobbing  in  the  water  a  few 
fathoms  distant  from  the  brig.  She  was  at  once 
hove  in  the  wind,  and  Hislop  went  in  the  stern 
boat  to  bring  the  bottle  on  board. 

As  the  most  trivial  incident  becomes  of  inter- 
est on  board  of  ship,  where  the  daily  occurrences 
are  so  few,  and  the  circle  of  society  so  limited, 
considerable  concern  was  excited  by  the  appear- 
ance of  this  bottle,  which  seemed  to  have  been 
fireshly  corked  ;  and  on  its  being  broken,  we  found 


VOYAGE   CONTINUED.  61 

a  scrap  of  paper  —  torn  apparently  from  a  note- 
book —  whereon  a  hurried  and  agitated  hand  had 
pencilled  this  brief  notice  : 

"  The  Mary,  clipper  ship,  of  Boston,  20th  Nov., 
1861,  momentarily  expected  to  go  down  —  pumps 
worn  out,  and  the  leaks  gaining  —  Captain  and 
first  mate,  with  all  the  boats,  washed  away  — 
God  help  us  !  " 

«  The  20th  of  November  ?  It  was  on  that 
night  we  encountered  the  heavy  gale,"  said 
Weston. 

"We  had  been  on  the  skirt  of  the  tempest,  as 
Hislop  maintained,  while  the  Yankee  ship  had 
probably  suffered  all  the  fury  of  it.  From  the 
main-cross-trees  Captain  Weston  swept  the  sea 
with  his  telescope,  in  vain,  for  any  trace  of  her  ; 
so  if  that  melancholy  scrap  of  paper  told  truth, 
all  was  doubtless  over  long  since  with  the  Mary 
and  her  crew. 

In  the  cabin  that  night,  a  conversation  on  the 
probabilities  of  her  destruction  or  escape,  led  to  a 
recurrence  to  the  miraculous  manner  in  which 
the  unlucky  Dutch  schooner  had  floated  so  long 
with  me ;  and  I  mentioned  to  Weston  and 
Hislop  the  additional  terrors  I  had  endured  by 
the  effect  of  imagination,  and  a  recollection  of 
the  strange  incidents  told  me  by  Captain  Zeer- 
vogel ;  but  they  ridiculed  the  story  of  the  poor 
man,  chiefly,  I  thought,  because  "  it  was  the  yarn 
of  a  Hollander." 

6 


62  DICK  RODNEY. 

"  Though  I  am  a  Scotchman,"  began  His- 
lop 

"  And  come  of  a  people  naturally  supersti- 
tious," suggested  Weston,  parenthetically 

"  As  all  large-brained  races  are,"  retorted  the 
mate,  while  filling  his  clay  pipe  with  tobacco. 

"  Well,  what  were  you  about  to  say  ?"  asked 
Weston.  "  But  first  fill  your  glass  and  pass  over 
the  tobacco  bag." 

"  I  was  simply  about  to  reiterate  that  I  don't 
believe  in  ghosts,  or  value  them  any  more  than  I 
do  the  Yankee  sea-serpent,  a  rope's  end,  or  a  piece 
of  old  junk  ;  I  never  saw  one,  or  knew  a  man  who 
had  seen  one  ;  but  every  one  has  heard  of  a  man, 
that  knew  another  man  who  saw,  or  believed  he 
saw  a  ghost.  It  is  at  variance  with  the  laws  of 
nature,  which  are  so  ordered  that  no  such  erratic 
spirit  can  be." 

"  I  don't  know  that,"  replied  Weston  ;  "  earth 
and  water  have  their  inhabitants,  so  why  not  the 
air  also  ?  " 

"  And  why  not  the  fire  ?  " 

"  There  you  go,  right  before  the  wind  into  the 
troubled  sea  of  argument  —  you  Scotchmen  are 
all  aKke." 

"  Ghosts  are  at  variance  with  the  workings  of 
Divine  wisdom,  and  we  aU  know  what  Jones  of 
Nayland  says  thereupon." 

"  No  we  don't,"  said  Weston ;  "who  the  deuce 
was  he  —  what  port  did  he  hail  from  ?  " 


VOYAGE   CONTINUED.  63 

" '  He  who  cannot  see  the  workings  of  a  Divine 
wisdom  in  the  order  of  the  heavens,  the  change  of 
the  seasons,  the  flowing  of  the  tides,  the  opera- 
tions of  the  w^ind  and  other  elements,  the  struc- 
ture of  the  human  body,  the  cu'culation  of  the 
blood,  the  instinct  of  beasts,  and  the  growth  of 
plants,  is  sottishly  blind  and  unworthy  the  name 
of  man.' " 

"  You  hear  him,  Mr.  Rodney,"  said  Weston ; 
"  now  he  has  got  both  his  anchor  and  topsails 
a-trip ;  he  can  pay  out  whole  speeches  in  this 
fashion,  all  at  a  breath,  as  fast  as  the  chain-cable 
running  through  the  hawse-pipe." 

Being  fresh  from  Eton,  I  was  not  going  to  let 
our  learned  Scotch  mate  have  it  all  his  own  way, 
when  Weston  resumed, — 

"  K  you  will  listen,  you  shall  hear  a  strange 
story  in  which  I  bore  a  prominent  part." 

«  As  the  ghost  ?  "  said  I. 

"  No ;  but  you  will  soon  acknowledge  whether 
or  not  I  had  cause  for  fear." 

And  after  he  had  replenished  his  glass  and  pipe, 
Captain  Sam  Weston  began  in  this  manner: 

"  About  fifteen  years  ago,  I  found  myself  at 
Matanzas,  in  Cuba,  the  same  port  we  are  bound 
for  now  —  adrift,  without  a  ship,  and  almost 
without  a  penny  in  my  pocket,  among  foreign- 
ers, Spaniards,  and  mulattoes,  mestees  and  quad- 
roons, black,  white,  and  yellow.  I  had  gone 
there  as  second  mate  of  a  ship  from  Boston,  bul 


64  DICK   RODNEY. 

the  tyranny  of  our  skipper  wellnigh  drove  me 
mad.  During  the  voyage  he  had  nearly  killed 
three  of  our  men  for  being  slow  in  sending  down 
the  top-gallant  yards  on  a  squally  night.  He 
beat  them  till  they  were  black  and  blue  with  a 
handspike,  and  kept  them  for  forty-eight  hours, 
lashed  to  ringbolts  in  the  lee-scuppers,  that  the 
sea  might  break  over  them,  as  he  said,  and  cure 
their  sores. 

"  When  I  interfered  to  save  a  poor  cabin  boy, 
whom  he  had  hung  by  the  heels  from  the  main- 
boom,  and  was  scourging  with  a  heavy  colt  till  his 
back  was  covered  with  blood,  he  produced  a  bowie 
knife  and  revolver,  threatening  to  '  shoot  or  rip 
me  up.' 

"  Just  at  that  moment  we  were  passing  a  Span- 
ish ship  of  war  which  was  at  anchor  in  the  bay, 
about  half  a  mile  from  us,  and  had  the  red  and 
yellow  jack  of  Castile  and  Leon  flying  at  his  gaff 
peak.  One  of  the  poor  fellows  who  had  been  so 
severely  beaten  was  then  in  the  foretop,  so  I 
hailed  him  to  make  a  signal  of  distress  to  the 
Spaniard. 

"  In  a  moment  his  blue  shirt  was  off  and 
placed  on  the  lift  of  the  foreyard.  This  meant, 
Mr.  Rodney,  that  as  merchant  seamen  we  ap- 
pealed to  the  man-o'-war  for  protection,  and 
wanted  an  armed  boat's  crew.  Thank  Heaven, 
such  an  appeal  is  never  made  in  vain  by  a  poor 
Jack  of  any  country  to  a  British  niAn-o'-war, 


VOYAGE   CONTINUED.  65 

but  the  lubberly  Spaniards  never  noticed  tiie 
signal,  or  if  so,  never  heeded  it. 

"  The  Yankee  skipper  uttered  a  fierce  laugh. 

"  '  Douse  that  shirt  and  come  down,  you  sir,' 
he  thundered  out;  'down  instantly,  or  I  will 
shoot  you  hke  a  coon.' 

"  But,  desperate  with  fear,  the  poor  fellow  now 
stood  upon  the  yard,  and  while  one  hand  grasped 
the  topping  lift,  with  the  other  he  waved  his  shirt 
to  the  Spaniards.  I  heard  the  crack  of  a  pistol, 
and  next  moment  he  fell  a  quivering  mass  upon 
the  deck,  stone  dead,  shot  by  the  revolver. 

"  '  That  will  teach  you  to  make  signals  from  my 
ship,  you  varmint,'  snivelled  the  merciless  skip- 
per, giving  the  body  a  kick ;  '  and  as  for  you,^  he 
continued,  addressing  me,  and  ramming  home  his 
words  with  an  oath  ;  but  before  he  could  get  fur- 
ther, I  levelled  him  on  the  deck  by  a  blow  from  a 
handspike,  and  tossed  his  knife  and  revolver  over- 
board. 

"  His  right  arm  was  broken.  There  was  a  great 
row  about  all  this  before  the  Alcalde  wh(;n  we  got 
into  harbor  ;  our  bell  was  unshipped  and  our 
canvas  unbent  by  a  party  of  Spanish  marines ; 
but  the  captain  crossed  the  Alcalde's  hand  with 
silver  or  gold,  and  there  was  an  end  of  it.  There 
was  an  end  of  my  engagement  too  ;  for  the  Yan- 
kee weathered  me  about  my  salary,  seized  my 
chest,  my  quadrant,  even  an  old  silver  watch 
which  my  mother  gave  me  to  make  me  comfort* 

6* 


66  DICK  RODNEY. 

able,  when  I  first  went  to  sea,  and  then  turned  me 
out  of  the  ship. 

"  So  with  nothing  except  a  Mexican  dollar  in 
my  pocket,  but  followed  by  my  Newfoundland 
dog  Hector,  I  found  myself  on  a  wet  and  dusky 
evening  on  the  great  quay  of  Matanzas,  which 
faces  the  bay  that  opens  into  the  Gulf  of  Florida. 

"  Low^  alike  in  spirit  and  funds,  I  had  to  endure 
being  jostled  by  negro  porters,  scowled  at  by 
alguazils,  ordered  about  by  redcapped  and  black- 
bearded  Spanish  sentries,  who  were  shirtless  and 
tattered,  and  whose  browai  uniforms  and  red 
worsted  epaulettes  tainted  the  very  sea-breeze 
with  the  odor  of  garlic  and  coarse  tobacco. 

"  The  sun  had  set  behind  clouds  as  red  as  blood.' 
The  bay  was  all  of  a  deep  brown  tint,  and  the 
shores  were  black  or  purple.  I  was  very  sad  at 
heart,  and  thought  it  hard  that  I,  a  British  sea- 
man, should  be  there  an  outcast,  and  all  my  kit 
reduced  to  the  clothes  on  my  back,  in  the  very 
place  where  the  same  flag  that  Pococke  and  Al- 
bemarle hoisted  on  Havana,  had  brought  all 
the  Don  Spaniards  on  their  knees  in  old  King 
George's  time. 

"  However,  that  would  neither  find  me  suppei 
or  a  bed.  I  lost  or  missed  my  Newfoundland  dog 
Hector,  and  in  the  bitterness  of  my  heart  I 
banned  the  poor  animal  for  ingratitude  in  leaving 
me.  Just  as  I  was  looking  about  for  a  humble 
posada,  where  a  moiety  of  my  dollar  might  pro- 
cure me  a  bed,  a  man  stumbled  against  me. 


VOYAGE   CONTINUED.  67 

"'Look  alive,  cucumber  shanks,'  said  he 
angrily,  in  English. 

"  '  Do  you  take  me  for  a  negro  ? '  I  asked, 
fiercely. 

" '  You  are  grimy  enough  for  any  thing,'  said 
he ;  and  after  being  a  night  in  the  Alcalde's  lock- 
up house,  I  certainly  was  not  the  cleanest  of 
men  ;  but  now  it  seemed  as  if  the  voice  of  the 
stranger  was  familiar  to  me.  I  examined  his 
features. 

"'What,'  I  exclaimed,  '  Hislop — Jack  Hislop, 
is  this  you  ? ' 

"''Tis  I,  Jack  Hislop,  certainly,'  replied  the 
other,  who  proved  to  be  my  old  friend,  Marc's 
father  ;  'but  who  the  deuce  are  you  ?' 

"  '  Your  old  shipmate,  Sam  Weston,  who  sailed 
with  you  for  many  a  day  in  the  Good  Intent  of 
Port  Glasgow.' 

"  For  a  moment  his  tongue  seemed  absent 
without  leave. 

"  '  What,  you  Sam  Weston  —  English  Sam,  as 
we  called  you  —  adrift  here  at  Matanzas  among 
these  Spanish  land-crabs  ?  ' 

" '  Aye,  adrift  sure  enough,'  said  I,  as  we 
shook  hands  heartily,  and  then  adjourned  to  a 
taberna,  when  I  told  him  all  about  my  quarrel 
with  the  Yankee  and  my  present  hopeless  con- 
dition, over  a  glass  of  nor'-nor'-west. 

" '  I  have  a  brig  here  on  the  gridiron,  repainng, 
for  we  lost  some  of  her  copper  in  scraping  a 


68  DICK   RODNEY. 

rock  near  the  Tortugas  shoal.  All  my  crew  are 
of  course  ashore,  and  at  present  I  am  residing 
with  a  friend,'  said  Hislop ;  '  but  I  can  find  per- 
manent quarters  for  you  till  you  get  a  berth. 
Do  you  see  that  craft  out  there  in  the  bay  ? ' 

"  '  The  polacca  brig,  about  a  mile  off?  ' 

"  *  Yes.  Well,  she  is  consigned  to  my  owner, 
but  was  found  adrift,  abandoned  by  all  her  crew 
except  two,  about  fifty  miles  off,  half  way  be- 
tween this  and  the  Salt  Key  Bank.  I  have 
charge  of  her  now,  and  there  you  may  sleep 
every  night  if  you  choose.  What  say  you  to 
that  ? ' 

" '  That  I  thank  you,  old  shipmate,  with  all 
my  heart,  but  —  but  —  ' 

«  '  What  ?  ' 

" '  I  have  heard  of  that  polacca,  and  that  the 
two  of  her  crew  who  remained  on  board  —  ' 

" '  Were  dead  ;  yes,  true  enough.  They  were 
found  in  their  berths,  one  on  the  starboard,  and 
the  other  on  the  port  side  of  the  cabin.  But 
what  of  that  ?  I  buried  them  off  the  point  of 
Santa  Cruz,  and  there  they  sleep  sound  enough, 
believe  me,  each  with  a  couple  of  cold  shot  at 
his  heels.  Here  is  the  key  of  the  companion 
hatch,  and  take  my  revoh'^er  with  you,  for  picaros 
are  pretty  common  hereabout.' 

"  '  Thanks,  Hislop,'  said  I ;  '  but  how  am  I  to 
get  on  board  ?  ' 

" '  Scull  over  to  her  in  the  punt  that  is  moored 


VOYAGE   CONTINUED.  69 

beside  the  quay.  When  on  board  make  your- 
self quite  at  home,  for  the  agent  and  I  left  plenty 
of  grog,  beef,  biscuits,  and  tobacco  in  the  cabin. 
On  the  morrow  I'll  overhaul  you,  in  the  forenoon 
watch.  TiU  then,  good-by  ;  '  and  before  I  could 
say  any  thing  more,  old  Jack  was  gone,  and  I 
found  myself  alone  on  the  stone  mole,  with  the 
key  of  the  polacca's  companion  in  my  hand. 

"  There  seemed  nothing  for  me  but  to  accept 
the  temporary  home  thus  offered  ;  so,  in  the  hope 
that  it  might  lead  to  something  better,  I  stepped 
into  the  light  punt,  cast  loose  the  painter,  and 
after  a  few  minutes'  vigorous  scuUing  found  my- 
self on  the  lonely  deck  of  the  silent  polacca. 

"  Her  canvas  was  unbent ;  most  of  the  run- 
ning rigging  had  also  been  taken  off  her  and 
stowed  away,  —  so  her  tall  and  taper  spars 
stood  nakedly  up  from  the  straight  flush  deck, 
with  a  sharp  rake  aft. 

"  Thick  banks  of  dark-blue  cloud  were  coming 
heavily  up  from  the  Gulf  of  Florida.  The  air 
was  hot  and  sulphureous ;  some  drops  of  rain, 
warm,  and  broad  as  doubloons,  began  to  plash 
upon  the  deck  and  to  make  circles  on  the  sea ; 
while  at  the  far  edge  of  the  horizon  a  narrow 
streak  of  bright  moonlight,  against  which  the 
waves  were  seen  chasing  each  other,  glittered 
through  the  flying  scud,  the  bottom  of  which 
was  uplifted  in  the  ofiing,  like  a  dark  curtain 
that  was  tattered  and  rent. 


70  DICK  RODNEY. 

"  Then  a  flash  of  red  lightning,  tipping  the 
waves  with  fire,  shone,  but  to  be  replaced  by 
instant  darkness,  and  all  became  black  chaos  to 
seaward,  save  where  a  pale-green  beacon  burned 
steadily  at  Santa  Cruz,  on  the  western  side  of 
the  bay. 

"  These  signs  prognosticated  a  rough  night, 
but  I  was  glad  to  perceive  that  the  polacca  was 
well  moored  at  stem  and  stern  ;  so  I  unlocked 
the  companion  door  and  descended,  not  without 
a  shudder,  into  the  dark  and  cold  cabin,  where 
the  dead  men  had  been  found,  and  wheie  all 
was  silence  and  gloom. 

"  I  struck  a  lucifer  match  ;  my  teeth  chat- 
tered ;  and  whUe  groping  about  for  a  candle,  to 
make  myself  comfortable  for  the  night,  I  began 
to  wish  I  had  remained  on  shore. 

"  I  found  a  ship-lantern  with  the  fag-end  of  a 
candle  in  it,  and  this,  when  lighted,  enabled  me  to 
take  a  survey  of  the  cabin  ;  but  I  first  applied  to 
the  jar  of  right  Jamaica  which  stood  on  the 
table  ;  and  when  looking  about,  found  my  eyes 
wander  so  incessantly  to  the  side  berths  in  which 
the  dead  Spaniards  had  been  found,  that  at  last 
I  almost  fancied  their  pale  sharp  profiles  and 
rigid  figures  were  visible  in  the  flickering  fight 
of  the  candle. 

" '  Come,'  said  I,  '  Sam  Weston  —  this  will 
never  do  !  Are  you  a  man,  or  have  you  become 
a  child  again  ?  ' 


VOYAGE   CONTINUED.  71 

"  Another  application  —  a  long  one,  too  —  to 
the  rum  jar,  and  I  wrapped  some  bunting,  a  rug, 
and  a  pea-jacket  that  lay  on  the  locker,  round 
me,  and  lay  down  on  the  cabhi  floor  to  sleep ; 
and  scarcely  had  I  stretched  myself  there  when 
the  candle  flared  up,  and,  after  casting  some 
strange  kaleidoscopic  figures  on  the  beams  over- 
head, through  the  perforated  lantern-top  —  went 
out !  " 

"  I  was  in  total  darkness  now,  but  more 
awake  than  ever. 

"  I  felt  as  if  in  a  great  floating  coffin,  but 
heard  no  sound  except  the  gurgle  of  the  sea 
under  the  counter,  or  the  splash  of  the  stern 
warp,  as  it  whipped  the  water  occasionally. 

"  I  kept  my  eyes  closed  resolutely,  and  deter- 
mined, perforce,  to  sleep,  and  not  to  wake  till 
morning ;  but  still  I  could  not  help  thinking  of 
the  two  poor  fellows  who  had  died  in  the  berths 
of  that  cold,  dark,  and  silent  cabin,  and  been 
tossed  to  and  fro  so  long  upon  the  sea  before 
they  received  Christian  burial. 

"  Which  had  died  first,  —  the  man  in  the  lar- 
board, or  he  in  the  starboard  berth  ?  Why  were 
they  thus  abandoned?  What  had  they  said  to 
each  other  ?  What  messages  had  they  sent  to 
wife,  to  father,  or  mother  ?  What  tale  of  love 
to  repeat.  —  of  guilt  to  reveal  ?  —  messages  given 
by  the  dead  to  the  dead,  and  never  delivered  1 

"  These   thoughts   crowded    upon   me   till   I 


72  DICK   RODNEY. 

almost  imagined  the  dead  men  lay  there  stUl, 
and  that  they  might  rise  and  give  their  last  mes- 
sages to  me. 

"  Then  I  heard  a  sound  in  the  forehold.  It 
made  my  blood  curdle  !  Was  it  caused  by  rats  ? 
Perhaps  they  had  fed  on  the  dead  Spaniards 
and  now, were  come  to  take  a  nibble  at  me. 
Rats  were  bad  enough,  but  ghosts  were  worse. 
I  took  a  third  and  last  pull  at  the  Jamaica  jar ; 
said  my  prayers  over  again,  with  more  than 
usual  devotion,  adding  thereto  the  wish  that  I 
should  soon  have  a  spanking  craft  of  my  own. 

"  Still  the  idea  of  the  two  dead  men,  with 
their  pale  faces  and  unclosed  eyes,  would  come 
before  me  again  and  again  ;  and  I  could  have 
groaned  but  for  dread  of  some  similar  response 
that  might  make  my  heart  wither  up  and  my 
flesh  creep.  And  creep  it  soon  did  ;  for,  just  as 
this  horrid  idea  of  an  overstrained  fancy,  fostered 
by  imagination  and  fashioned  out  of  the  silence 
and  darkness,  became  strongest  within  me,  what 
were  my  emotions,  —  how  painful  the  throbbings 
of  my  heart,  —  on  beholding  a  strange,  green 
ghastly  light  glimmering  about,  and  playing 
within  each  of  the  side  berths  . 

"  While  shrinking  into  a  corner  of  the  cabin, 
with  eyeballs  straining,  I  gazed  at  them  alter- 
nately with  a  species  of  horrid  fascination.  The 
two  lights  were  weird,  wavering,  and  pale ;  they 
seemed  to  me  as  two  warnings  from  the  land  of 


VOYAGE    CONTINUED.  73 

spirits,  for  they  played  upon  the  curtains  and  in 
the  recess  of  each  berth,  port,  and  starboard,  in 
which  a  dead  man  had  been  found.  And  while 
these  lights  shone,  there  came  upon  my  ear  the 
palpable  sound  of  a  heavy  breathing  and  snort- 
ing, as  from  the  oppressed  chest  of  some  one 
close  by  me. 

"  I  placed  my  hands  upon  my  eyes  and  on  my 
ears,  to  shut  out  these  homd  lights  and  sounds ; 
but  when  I  looked  again  the  former  had  disap- 
peared, and  all  was  opaque  darkness. 

"  On  putting  forth  my  hand  to  rise,  a  cry  of 
uncontrollable  terror  escaped  me, —  a  yell  that 
rang  in  wild  echoes  through  the  silent  polacca, 
—  when  my  fingers  came  in  contact  with  some- 
thing icy,  and  then  a  cold,  clammy,  and  wet 
head  of  hair ! 

"  Then  two  glistening  eyes  seemed  to  peer 
and  to  glare  into  mine  ! 

"  In  horror  and  bewilderment,  and  followed 
by  something',  I  knew  not  what,  I  sprang  up  the 
companion,  and,  half  fainting,  reached  the  deck 
of  the  polacca.  Then  I  turned  to  find  that  the 
object  which  had  excited  so  much  dismay  was 
no  other  than  my  poor  dog  Hector,  which  had 
swam  off  to  the  brig  in  pursuit  of  me. 

"  The  eyes  that  in  the  dark  seemed  to  glare 
into  mine,  were  his ;  the  icy  object,  from  which 
my  fingers  shrunk,  was  his  honest  black  nose ; 
and  what  seemed  a  wet  head  of  hair,  was  his 

7 


74  DICK   RODNEY. 

own  curly  front ;  while  the  lights  —  the  myste- 
rious lambent  lights  —  that  had  flickered  about 
the  dead  men's  berths,  proved  to  be  nothing 
more  than  the  green  beacon  on  the  promontory 
of  Santa  Cruz,  which  shone  at  times  through  the 
two  stern  windows  of  the  polacca. 

"  Being  moored  with  the  chain  cable  ahead, 
and  a  manilla  warp  from  her  port  quarter  to  a 
buoy  astern,  she  swung  to  and  fro  a  little  with 
the  ebb  and  flow  of  the  tide  ;  hence  the  oscilla- 
tion which  caused  the  moving  gleams  that  terri- 
fied me. 

" '  Ha  !  ha  ! '  said  I,  on  descending  into  the 
cabin,  a  wiser  and  a  more  sleepy  man,  '  scared 
by  my  own  dog  Hector  !  I  have  been  as  great 
a  gull  as  ever  touched  salt  water.' 

"  A  fortnight  afterwards,  I  shipped  with  old 
Jack  Hislop  as  second  mate,  and  the  fifteenth 
day  saw  us  running  before  a  smart  topgallant 
breeze  into  the  Gulf  of  Florida,  bound  with  a 
cargo  of  rum,  sugar,  and  molasses  for  the  Clyde. 

"  So  that  is  my  ghost  yarn.  It  conveys  a 
moral,  does  it  not  ?  Order  them  to  strike  the 
beU  forward.  Hislop,  call  the  watch  ;  see  how 
lier  head  bears,  and  let  us  turn  in." 


A    HURRICANE.  7«» 


CHAPTER   IX. 

A     HURRICANE     DRIVES     US     TO     THE 
FORTUNATE     ISLES. 

Some  days  after  this  we  passed  a  carraca,  as 
the  Portuguese  name  those  large  and  round^built 
vessels  which  they  send  to  Brazil  and  the  Indies, 
and  which  are  alike  adapted  for  burden,  fighting, 
and  sailing. 

On  exchanging  the  bearings  —  which,  when 
vessels  pass  each  other,  are  usually  chalked  on  a 
blackboard  hung  over  the  quarter —  Weston  and 
Hislop  found  a  considerable  difference  between 
the  Portuguese  and  ours  ;  but  never  doubting 
that  we  were  correct,  they  bore  on  without  hail- 
ing the  carraca,  as  we  passed  each  other  on  op- 
posite tacks  under  a  press  of  sail. 

The  weather  continued  cloudy,  and  an  in- 
creased difference  was  found  on  exchanging  the 
latitude  and  longitude  with  another  vessel  next 
morning.  Then,  after  an  observation  at  noon. 
Weston  found  that  for  more  than  fifty  hours  the 
Eugenie  had  been  going  several  miles  to  the 
Bouth-east  of  her  due  course. 

The  compass  was  immediately  overhauled  by 


76  DICK   RODNEY. 

Hislop,  who  found  that  the  standard  of  the 
needle  was  loose. 

On  that  night  there  commenced  a  long  course 
of  head  winds  and  fou^  weather,  during  which 
the  compass  never  worked  properly,  and  the 
captain  and  mate  found,  by  the  first  solar  obser- 
vation, that  we  had  drifted  so  far  to  leeward  as 
to  be  somewhere  between  the  parallels  of  28'^  and 
28=  35'  north. 

Tattooed  Tom  and  old  Roberts,  the  man-o' 
war's-man,  were  superstitious  enough  to  give  me 
the  entke  blame  of  all  this,  in  consequence  of 
having  fired  one  day  at  some  of  Mother  Gary's 
chickens ;  an  action,  they  averred,  which  never 
failed  to  give  the  craft  of  the  perpetrator  a  head 
wind  for  the  remainder  of  her  voyage  —  if  she 
ever  finished  it  at  all. 

"  If  this  foul  weather  holds  for  another  day," 
said  Weston,  as  he  trod  the  deck  with  a  sulki- 
ness  quite  professional  under  the  circumstances, 
we  shall  see  land  sooner  than  I  wished." 

"  Land  ! "  I  reiterated,  brightening  at  the  idea 
more  than  he  relished. 

"  Yes,  some  part  of  the  Canaries  —  Santa  Cruz 
de  la  Palma,  most  likely ;  but  we  shaU  have  very 
Tough  weather  before  another  sun  rises.  I  know 
well  the  signs,  Mr.  Rodney.  Don't  you  see  what 
is  brewing  yonder,  Hislop  ?  "  he  said  in  a  low 
voice  to  his  mate. 

"  You  say  just  what  old   Roberts,   Tattooed 


A  HURRICANE.  77" 

Tom,  and  I  were  observing  forward,"  replied 
Hislop.  "  We  have  not  all  of  us  seen  a  hurri- 
cane off  the  west  coast  of  Africa,  a  tornado  in 
the  Whidward  Isles,  and  a  regular  roaring  pam- 
pero off  the  Rio  de  la  Plata,  without  learning 
something  —  eh.  Captain?" 

"  I  hope  not ;  so  remember  that  this  gloomy 
tveather,  with  the  wind  lulling  away  and  then 
coming  again  in  hot  gusts  with  a  moaning 
sound  —  in  my  part  of  England  we  name  it '  the 
calhng  of  the  sea '  —  are  always  signs  of  a  com- 
ing squall." 

As  the  night  closed  in,  the  canvas  on  the  brig 
was  reduced ;  the  royals  were  struck  and  the 
yards  sent  on  deck  ;  the  dead  lights  were  shipped 
on  the  stern  windows ;  the  quarter  boat  was 
hoisted  within  the  taffrail,  and  there  lashed  hard 
and  fast,  for  there  were  increasing  tokens  of  a 
coming  tempest,  and  ere  midnight  it  came  with 
a  vengeance. 

The  sky  at  first  was  all  a  deep,  dark  blue, 
wonderfully  dark  for  that  region,  and  the  stars, 
especially  the  planets,  shone  with  singular  clear- 
ness and  beauty ;  but  in  the  north-west  quarter 
of  the  heavens  we  could  see  the  coming  blast. 

From  the  horizon  to  the  zenith,  there  arose 
with  terrible  rapidity  a  mighty  bank  of  sable 
cloud,  forming  a  vast  and  gloomy  arch,  at  the 
base  of  which  a  pale  and  phosphorescent  light 
seemed  to  play  upon  the  heaving  sea. 


78  DICK  RODNEY. 

This  light  brightened  and  sunk  alternately. 
Now  it  would  shoot  downward  with  a  lurid  glare, 
steadily  and  briUiantly,  under  the  flying  vapor, 
and  then  it  died  away  with  an  opal  tint. 

Sheet  lightning,  of  a  pale  and  ghastly  green, 
extending  over  ten  or  twelve  points  of  the  hori- 
zon, flashed  and  played  upon  it.  Then  we  heard 
the  rush  of  rain,  as  if  a  great  lake  had  been  fall- 
ing from  a  vast  height  into  the  sea,  and  next  the 
roar  of  the  mighty  blast ;  while  furrowing  up  the 
ocean  in  its  passage,  the  tempest  came  swooping 
down  upon  us  and  around  us,  in  a  species  of 
whirlwind. 

Bravely  the  Eugenie  met  it,  for  her  captain  and 
men  handled  her  nobly. 

She  had  her  topgallant  sails  furled,  her  courses 
up,  the  topsails  lowered  upon  the  cap,  and  the 
reef-tackles  close  out ;  but  she  swayed  fearfully 
when  careening  beneath  the  hot  breath  of  the 
mighty  blast,  and  riding  over  those  black  moun- 
tains of  water,  which  in  fierce  succession  it  im- 
pelled toward  her.  High  she  went  over  a  sloping 
sheet  of  foam  one  moment,  and  the  next  saw  her 
plunging  into  a  deep,  black  valley  of  that  mid- 
night sea ;  so  deep,  that  the  wind  seemed  to  pass 
over  us,  the  canvas  flapped  to  the  mast,  and  we 
only  caught  its  weight  and  power  when  rising 
quickly  on  the  crest  of  the  next  mighty  roUer. 

Meanwhile  the  green-forked  lightning  flashed 
BO  brightly  that  at  times  we  could  see  every  rope 


A   HURRICANE.  79 

in  the  vessel,  our  own  blanched  and  pale  faces, 
as  we  held  on  by  ringbolts  and  belaying-pins  to 
save  ourselves  from  being  washed  overboard  by 
the  blinding  sheets  of  mingled  foam  and  rain 
that  deluged  the  deck,  over  which  the  sea  was 
also  breaking  heavily  every  instant. 

Each  time  the  Eugenie  rose  in  her  buoyancy, 
her  decks  were  half  full  of  water,  and  the  long- 
boat amidships  filled  so  fast  that  a  man  with  a 
bucket  could  scarcely  keep  it  baled. 

Following  the  whirlwind,  we  went  round  five 
times  in  thirty-five  minutes,  with  the  after-yards 
squared  and  the  head-yards  braced  sharp  up. 

Then  the  black  mass  of  sulphureous  cloud  in 
which  we  were  enveloped  seemed  to  ascend,  and 
with  the  same  rapidity  with  which  it  approached, 
passed  away  into  the  sky  ;  "  the  chamber  of  the 
thunder,"  as  the  Bard  of  Cona  names  it,  became 
again  clear,  blue,  and  starry,  though  marked  by 
occasional  masses  of  flying  vapor.  The  rain 
ceased,  and  the  Eugenie  heaved  upon  a  foam- 
covered  sea,  over  which  there  passea,  from  time 
to  time,  short  squalls,  compelling  us  to  lower  the 
double-reefed  topsails  and  run  before  the  wind. 

Now  a  stiff  glass  of  grog  was  served  round  to 
all,  and  by  turns  we  contrived  to  get  some  dry 
clothing. 

In  the  end  of  the  middle  watch  —  about  four 
o'clock,  A.  M.  —  there  was  suddenly  visible,  upon 
our  larboard  bow,  a  faint  and  vapory  light  that 


80  DICK   RODNEY. 

shot  upward  in  the  sky,  from  time  to  time,  like 
jets  of  steam. 

This  singular  appearance  was  high  above  the 
horizon,  and  first  caught  the  anxious  eye  of  Cap- 
tain Weston. 

"  Hah  !  do  you  see  that  ?  "  said  he  to  me. 

«  What  is  it  ?  " 

"  The  Peak  of  Adam,  —  TenerifFe." 

"  The  great  volcanic  peak  in  the  Fortunate 
Isles !  " 

"  Old  Tenny  Reef  in  the  Canaries,  we  calls  it, 
sir,"  said  Tattoed  Tom,  who  was  at  the  wheel. 
"  It  ain't  a  volcano  now ;  but  it  can't  give  over 
its  old  trade  o'  smoking  altogether,  and  blows  up 
steam  like  a  screw  propeller,  or  just  as  a  whale 
does  water  through  his  spiracles." 

"  Tom  means  what  the  Spaniards  term  the 
ventas,  or  nostrils,  of  the  peak,  through  which 
the  aqueous  vapors  come  with  a  buzzing  sound, 
and  these  cause  a  species  of  light,"  said  Hislop. 

"  Well,  thank  Heaven,  though  we  are  far  out 
of  our  course,  that  blast  has  done  no  more  than 
wet  our  storm  jackets,  and  scrape  some  of  our 
paint  off." 

"  We  have  come  out  of  it  uncommon  well, 
sir,"  said  Tom,  as  he  stood  with  his  feet  planted 
firmly  apart  on  the  deck,  his  hard  brown  hands 
grasping  the  wheel,  with  the  helm  amidships,  as 
we  were  still  before  the  wind,  and  the  light  of 
the   binnacle   flaring  upward   on   his   weather- 


A  HURRICANE.  83 

beaten  face,  with  its  strange  zebra-like  stripes, 
—  at  least,  on  so  much  of  his  grim  visage  as  the 
peak  of  his  sou' -wester  and  a  scarlet  cravat  that 
was  round  his  throat  and  jaws  permitted  us  to 
see.  "  The  last  time  I  was  in  such  a  breeze  was 
a  pampero  off  the  mouth  of  the  Rio  de  la  Plata , 
but  then  we  had  our  foresail  spht  to  ribbons,  and 
the  ship  was  canted  over  on  her  beam  ends 
almost.  The  mainsail  was  blown  right  out  of 
the  men's  hands,  and  flapped  in  the  sky  like 
thunder,  while  the  craft  —  a  five-hundred  ton 
ship  she  was,  and  all  copper-fastened —  was  just 
on  the  point  of  capsizing,  when  with  a  crash  that 
made  our  hearts  ache,  snap  went  the  jibboom 
and  topmasts  off  at  the  caps,  just  as  you'd  break 
a  'bacca-pipe  at  the  bowl.  She  righted  after 
that ;  but  four  of  our  best  men  were  swept  away 
to  leeward,  and  never  seen  again.  And  now, 
Master  Rodney,  with  all  your  book-learning,  or 
you.  Master  Hislop,  with  all  yours,  can  you  teD 
me  why  such  things  as  tornadoes,  hurricanes, 
pamperos,  and  the  like,  are  sent  to  torment  poor 
hard-working  fellows  such  as  me  ?  " 

"  I  can,"  said  Hislop,  turning  his  handsome 
but  wet  and  weather-beaten  face  to  the  steers- 
man. 

"  You  can,  sir  ?  "  reiterated  Tom,  loudly  and 
incredulously. 

"  Yes,  in  four  lines.     Listen,  — 


82  DICK  RODNEY. 

"'Peihaps  this  storm  was  sent  with  healing  breath, 
From  distant  climes  to  scourge  disease  and  death  ; 
*Tis  ours  on  Thine  unerring  laws  to  trust ; 
With  Thee,  great  Lord,  —  whatever  is  is  just !  " 

"  Faith,  you  are  right,  sir,"  said  honest  Tom 
Lambourne,  touching  his  tarry  hat  in  respect  to 
the  mate,  mingled  with  that  piety  which,  in  his 
own  rugged  way,  a  seaman  is  never  without. 


I  GO   ASHORE.  83 


CHAPTER    X. 


I    GO    ASHORE. 


The  wind  lulled  away  into  a  gentle  breeze ; 
reef  after  reef  was  shaken  out  until  a  full  spread 
of  canvas  once  more  covered  the  spars  of  the 
Eugenie  ;  and  to  repair  some  trifling  damages 
of  the  night  we  crept  in  shore. 

As  day  brightened  through  clouds  half  rain, 
half  mist,  and  wholly  gray  or  obscure,  we  saw 
the  land  looming  high  and  dark.  Beyond  it  in 
the  distance  there  was  a  space  of  vivid  light ;  in 
the  foreground,  surf  white  as  snow  was  breaking 
on  the  beach,  and  high  over  all,  in  mid-air,  tow- 
ered the  wondrous  Peak  of  Adam,  on  the  east- 
ern side  of  which  the  sun  (as  yet  unrisen  to  us) 
was  shining  brightly  when  we  came  to  anchor 
in  the  harbor  of  Santa  Cruz. 

We  moored  in  thirty-three  fathoms  water, 
about  half  a  mile  from  the  shore,  which  in  most 
places  is  steep,  with  green  and  lovely  slopes 
rising  high  above  it.  As  Captain  Weston  pro- 
posed to  weigh  next  morning,  he  allowed  me  to 
go  ashore,  but  sent  with  me,  to  be  a  guide  and 
companion,  Tom  Lambourne,  the  tattooed  sailor, 
who  had  been  frequently  before  at  the  Grand 
Canary,  and  in  whom  he  reposed  great  trust. 


84  DICK  RODNEY. 

He  gave  me  a  courier-bag  containing  some 
provisions,  a  flask  of  spirits,  and  a  telescope ; 
and  thus  provided,  ojd  Tom  and  I,  with  such 
emotions  of  pleasure  as  ru'-o  newly-escaped 
echoolboys  might  feel,  landed  on  the  shore, 
which  seemed  to  heave,  sink,  and  rise  under  my 
feet  —  for  after  the  late  storm  I  still  felt  that 
which  is  termed  "  the  roU  of  the  ship." 

It  was  in  this  harbor  of  Santa  Cruz  that  the 
famous  old  English  Admiral  Blake  encountered, 
and  within  six  hours  burned  and  sunk,  seven 
great  Spanish  galleons,  though  they  were  an- 
chored under  the  protecting  cannon  of  seven 
forts  and  a  strong  castle,  in  the  walls  of  which 
some  of  his  shot  were  shown  imbedded  for  many 
years  after. 

I  cast  longing  eyes  to  the  summit  of  the 
mighty  Peak  of  Adam.  It  seemed  to  rise  sheer 
from  the  sea,  over  which,  literally  piercing  the 
clouds,  it  towers  to  the  height  of  more  than 
twelve  thousand  feet ;  but  the  idea  of  attempt- 
ing to  climb  it  within  so  short  a  space  of  time 
as  we  had  to  spend  on  shore  never  occurred  to 
me  ;  but  what  a  feat  it  would  have  been  to  re- 
late when  I  returned  to  Erlesmere ! 

The  morning  was  early  yet ;  the  sun  was 
barCiy  above  the  now  cloudless  horizon  ;  so  the 
shadow  of  this  stupendous  cone  was  cast  not 
only  over  the  whole  island,  which  seems  to  form 
merely  its  base,  but  to  the  far  horizon,  perhaps 
beyond  it ;  for  there  are  writers  who  assert  that 


I    GO   ASHORE.  85 

in  clear  w^eather  Cape  Bojadore,  that  dreary  and 
barren  promontory  of  Africa,  ninety  miles  dis- 
tant, is  visible  from  its  summit. 

Did  the  waves  of  the  sea  ever  overflow  that 
mighty  Peak  ?  At  such  a  question  the  mind 
becomes  lost  in  conjecture. 

As  I  am  not  writing  a  descriptive  book  of 
travels,  but  merely  a  plain  narrative  of  my  own 
very  recent  adventures,  I  need  not  detail  at  great 
length  either  the  magnitude  or  the  aspect  of  this 
gi-eat  island-mountain  of  the  Atlantic. 

From  cliffs  of  dark-brown  basalt,  against 
which  the  ocean  pours  in  vain  its  foam  and 
fury,  we  ascended  the  steep  slope  of  the  volcano 
for  a  few  miles.  Then  at  our  feet,  as  it  were, 
we  could  see  that  fertile  island,  where  a  perpet- 
ual spring  seems  to  smile,  and  where  the  fra- 
grant myrtle,  the  golden  orange-trees,  and  the 
dark  funereal  cypress  form  the  mere  hedgerows 
of  those  plantations  where  the  sugar-cane,  the 
broad-leaved  plantain,  the  luscious  Indian  fig, 
the  trailing  vine,  the  fragrant  cinnamon,  and  the 
pretty  coffee-bush,  were  all  flourishing  in  a  luxu- 
riance that  filled  us  with  wonder  and  pleasure. 

Further  oft'  was  the  boundless  sea,  of  Hhat 
deep  blue  which  it  borrowed  from  the  sky  above 
and  mirrored  in  its  depth  were  the  shipping  in 
the  roadstead,  with  their  v/hite  canvas  hanging 
loose  to  dry  in  the  sun  ;  the  green  woods  and 
dark  rocks  reflected  downward,  and  the  old  tur« 
8 


86  DICK  RODNEY. 

reted  castle  of  Santa  Cruz,  with  the  scarlet  and 
yellow  banner  of  Castile  and  Leon  on  its  time- 
worn  ramparts. 

The  summit  of  the  great  cone,  on  the  clothed 
sides  of  which  we  never  tired  of  gazing,  soon  be- 
came lost  in  vapor ;  far  above  the  dark-green 
belt  of  many  miles,  named  the  Region  of  Lau- 
rels, and  that  other  belt  or  forest  of  timber, 
where  pines,  chestnuts,  and  oaks  of  vast  size 
mingle  their  varied  foliage  together,  the  moun- 
tain seemed  all  of  a  violet  tint,  which  paled 
away  into  faint  blue  as  its  apex  mingled  and 
became  lost  amid  the  gossamer  clouds. 

The  vines,  in  luxuriance,  bordered  the  path- 
way as  we  ascended,  and  it  is  said  that  for  years 
after  the  wine  has  been  taken  from  these  isles  to 
England  or  elsewhere,  it  always  ferments  and 
becomes  agitated  when  the  vineries  from  whence 
it  came  are  in  bloom ;  but  this  tale  may  perhaps 
be  as  true  as  the  accounts  of  those  mighty  ruins 
which  Pliny  avers  once  covered  all  the  Fortunate 
Islands,  but  of  which  no  trace  remains  now. 

Tom  Lambourne  and  I,  after  a  ramble  of 
some  hours,  found  ourselves  in  a  wild  and  soli- 
tary place,  where  blocks  of  lava  and  heaps  of 
yellow-pumice  dust  were  lying  among  shattered 
masses  of  basalt,  which  were  studded  with  spars 
and  chrystals  that  glittered  as  the  sunshine 
streamed  through  a  ravine  upon  them. 

The  sides  of  this  ravine  were  clothed  with  rich 
copsewood   and  little   thickets   of    the  retamU' 


I   GO  ASHORE.  87 

blanca,  which  there  gi-ows  about  ten  feet  high, 
and  is  covered  with  tufts  of  odoriferous  flowers. 
The  distant  sea,  the  waves  of  which  seemed 
to  bask  or  sleep  in  the  sunshine,  closed  the  per- 
spective of  this  ravine ;  and  there  we  could  see 
the    Eugenie    at   anchor,   with   her    snow-white 
courses  loose  and  her  other  canvas  neatly  handed. 
Being   warmed   by  our   walk,  we    sat  down 
within  the  mouth  of  a  species  of  natural  grotto, 
formed  by  masses  of  lava  and  basalt,  which  in 
some  past  age  the  throes  of  the  volcano  had 
thrown   and  heaped  together.       There    a   clear 
spring   gurgled  joyously  from  a  fissure  in   the 
rocks  ;  and   now,  opening   the    courier-bag,  we 
proceeded  to  make  our  breakfast  on  the  viands 
I  had  brought  from  the  ship  —  to  wit,  Bologna 
sausage  and  biscuits,  with  brandy-and-water. 

The  air  was  deliciously  clear,  and  over  the 
brow  of  the  rocky  chasm  in  which  we  sat,  there 
fell  a  natural  screen  of  the  wild  Indian  fig  and 
vine  creepers,  and  these  shaded  us  from  the  in- 
creasing heat  of  the  morning  sun. 
All  was  still  there. 

We  heard  only  the  coo  of  the  great  wood- 
pigeons  among  the  gorgeous  foliage,  or  the 
sweet  notes  of  the  Httle  golden-colored  canary 
birds,  as  they  twittered  about  us  when  we  scared 
them  from  their  nests,  which  they  usually  build 
in  the  barrancas  or  watercourses,  such  being  the 
coolest  places  in  that  volcanic  isle. 


88 


DICK  RODNEY. 


CHAPTER    XL 

HOW    TOM    WAS    TATTOOED. 

My  companion  was  a  short  and  thick-set 
sailor,  about  forty  years  of  age,  and  whose  figure 
■was  suggestive  of  great  muscular  strength ;  his 
hair  was  cut  short,  but  his  whiskers  were  of  the 
most  voluminous  description,  as  he  was  anxious 
to  conceal  as  much  as  possible  of  the  strange 
circles,  stripes,  and  grotesque  designs  with  which 
his  sun-burned  face  was  covered,  and  which  by 
their  form  and  blackness,  imparted  a  hideous 
aspect  to  features  that  otherwise  were  rather 
good  and  pleasing. 

He  was  an  intelligent  man,  and  well  read,  for 
the  humble  class  to  which  he  belonged. 

"  Aye,  Master  Rodney,"  said  he,  on  perceiv- 
ing that  I  was  stiU  surveying  Mm  with  some- 
thing of  wonder  (and  his  face  was  a  point  on 
which  he  was  particularly  sensitive) ;  "  you  see 
what  a  precious  figure-head  those  'tarnal  niggers 
on  the  coast  of  Africa  made  for  me." 

"  How  did  this  happen,  Tom  ?  "  said  I,  filling 
his  drinking-horn. 

"  About  twenty  years  ago,  Master  Rodney,  I 


HOW   TOM   WAS   TATTOED.  89 

belonged  to  the  Arroiv,  a  smart  Liverpool  bark 
of  two  hundred  and  twenty  tons  register.  1 
made  many  voyages  in  her  to  South  America, 
but  at  last,  as  bad  luck,  or  my  destiny  (as  men 
say  in  the  play)  would  have  it,  she  was  char- 
tered for  the  West  Coast  of  Africa,  to  trade 
with  the  natives,  but  not  in  black  cattle,  for  sla- 
very was  never  our  line  of  business. 

"  We  sailed  from  the  Mersey  in  June,  and 
early  in  August  found  ourselves  at  the  mouth 
of  the  Congo  river,  after  a  prosperous  voyage  ; 
but  on  the  night  we  made  the  land,  a  heavy 
gale  came  on,  and  it  veered  round  all  the  points 
of  the  compass  in  an  hour.  The  sea  and  sky 
were  as  black  as  they  could  be,  and  every  thing 
else  was  black  too,  except  the  breakers  on  the 
shore  to  leeward,  and  heaven  knows  they  were 
white  enough,  —  too  white  and  too  near  to  be 
pleasant. 

"  Our  skipper  handled  the  Arrow  well,  and  she 
obeyed  every  touch  of  the  helm  as  a  horse  might 
do  its  bridle  ;  she  was  sharply  built,  but  heavily 
sparred,  and  no  other  square-rigged  craft  upon 
the  sea  could  beat  her  on  a  wind. 

"  1  think  I  see  her  yet.  Master  Rodney,  for  she 
was  the  first  vessel  I  shipped  on  board  of,  and 
hang  me  if  I  didn't  love  her  as  if  she  had  been 
my  old  mother's  house,  near  Deptford  docks. 

"  Her  hull  was  long  and  low,  and  sat  like  a 
swan  ii  the  water,  only  that  she  was  not  white, 


90  DICK  RODNEY. 

!ike  a  swan,  but  as  black  as  paint  could  make 
her.  Aloft,  the  masts  tapered  away  like  fishing- 
rods,  crossed  by  the  square  yards,  while  stays, 
shrouds,  halyards,  and  hamper,  were  always 
taut,  as  if  made  of  cast-iron  ;  but  for  all  this,  she 
failed  to  weather  that  gale  off  the  Congo  river. 
She  missed  stays  and  got  sternway,  so  you  see, 
sir,  it  was  soon  all  over  with  her  after  that." 

"  How  —  I  do  not  understand  ?  " 

"  Don't  you  know  what  sternway  is  ?  What 
do  they  teach  folks  ashore  ?  She  was  taken 
aback  in  the  hurricane  —  the  most  dangerous 
thing  that  can  happen  to  any  vessel  —  a  sudden 
shift  of  wind  threw  her  on  her  broadside  in  the 
trough  of  the  sea,  and  with  her  deck  toward  the 
storm,  so  her  hatches  were  soon  beaten  in,  — 
all  the  sooner  that  she  was  driven  on  a  coral 
reef  near  the  Shark's  Nose,  where  the  sea  was 
like  a  sheet  of  foam  around  her. 

"  Five  poor  fellows  were  washed  away  and 
drowned  ;  but  when  day  broke,  and  the  storm 
abated  a  little,  the  captain,  six  men  and  I,  got 
ashore  in  the  long  boat  just  as  the  poor  Arrow 
began  to  break  up,  for  we  could  see  the  waves 
beating  into  her  and  rending  asunder  the  decks, 
the  inner  and  outer  sheathing,  as  if  they  couldn't 
scatter  the  cargo  fast  enough  far  and  wide. 

"  Well,  there  we  were,  shipwrecked  in  a  wild 
place  on  the  West  Coast  of  Mrica,  at  a  part  of 
the  Congo  river  where  the  mangrove  trees  grow 


HOW   TOM   WAS   TATTOED.  91 

into  the  water,  and  have  their  lower  branches 
covered  with  oysters  and  barnacles. 

"  We  could  see  high  blue  hills  in  the  distance 
when  the  sun  came  up  from  the  cane  swamps 
and  the  wild  woods  which  bordered  the  river, 
and  we  sat  on  the  beach  for  a  while  looking  rue- 
fully at  the  wreck,  of  which  little  now  remained 
but  a  few  timbers,  till  the  increase  of  the  morn- 
ing heat  drove  us  for  shelter  into  a  grove  of  oil- 
palms,  and  there.  Master  Kodney,  we  found 
tulips,  lilies,  and  hyacinths  growing  wild,  and 
six  times  larger  than  any  you  ever  saw  in  Eng- 
land. 

"  Some  of  our  men  proposed  that  we  should 
repair  the  longboat  —  she  was  partly  stove  in 
—  and  put  to  sea,  or  creep  in  her  along  the 
coast  until  we  were  picked  up.  We  were  with- 
out carpenter's  tools  ;  but  the  captain  had  a  case 
of  surgical  instruments,  and  the  first  use  we 
made  of  the  saw  was  to  cut  into  halves  an  iron 
buoy  which  had  floated  ashore  from  the  wreck. 

"  Thus  we  had  two  kettles,  in  which  we  boiled 
some  seabirds  and  their  eggs,  and  made  a  mess 
whereon  we  breakfasted.  Exhausted  by  the  late 
storm,  the  birds  were  easily  knocked  down  by 
stones  as  they  sat  with  drooping  wings  upon  the 
rocks  near  the  sea  ;  but  scarcely  was  our  miser- 
able meal  over,  when  we  heard  loud  yells,  and 
attracted  by  the  smoke  of  our  fire,  down  came 
a  whole  gang  of  ugly  darkies,  all  Mussolongos 


92  DICK   RODNEY. 

wild  and  naked,  with  rings  or  fishbones  in  theii 
long  ears  and  flat  noses,  —  all  streaked  with  war- 
paint and  all  shouting  like  madmen  as  they 
brandished  their  muskets  and  spears. 

"  They  fired  a  volley  which  stretched  on  the 
earth  the  poor  captain  and  all  my  shipmates 
dead  or  dying.  The  latter  they  soon  despatched 
with  their  knives  and  spears,  and  left  them  to  be 
eaten  by  wild  animals  ;  but  on  finding  that  I 
had  escaped  their  bullets,  they  supposed  that 
their  Fetish  had  protected  me,  and  so  for  a  time 
I  was  safe. 

"  For  a  whole  week  I  was  forced  to  help  these 
savages  in  the  work  of  taking  all  that  remained 
of  the  wreck  to  pieces,  though  hundreds  came 
from  the  interior,  and  they  wrought  hard,  some 
men  using  even  their  filed  teeth,  to  get  all  the 
iron  and  copper  bolts,  which  they  prized  more 
than  the  cargo,  sails,  or  spars,  as  they  could 
fashion  them  into  weapons  and  the  heads  of 
spears  and  arrows.  But  with  every  thing  they 
could  lay  their  dingy  hands  upon,  myself  in- 
cluded, they  made  ofi"  inland,  just  as  a  vessel, 
which  proved  to  be  a  King's  ship,  came  round 
the  Shark's  Nose,  and  thus,  with  help,  protec- 
tion, and  liberty  at  hand,  I  was  more  than  ever 
a  prisoner. 

"  I  was  in  very  low  spirits,  you  may  be  sure, 
fearing  they  only  intended  to  fatten  me  up,  like 
a  stall-fed  ox,  or  a  turtle  in  a  tub,  before  cooking 


HOW  TOM   WAS   TATTOED.  93 

and  eating  me,  or  making  me  a  sacriiice  to  some 
idol  carved  of  wood ;  for  many  times  I  saw  the 
whole  'tarnal  tribe  on  their  linees  before  the  fig- 
ure head  of  the  Arrow,  which  had  been  washed 
ashore,  and  was  pronounced  to  be  a  gi'eat  Fetish. 

"  For  three  days  we  travelled  among  deep  and 
slimy-green  swamps,  thick  wild  woods,  and  im- 
mense pathless  canebrakes,  where  in  an  hour  I 
saw  more  tree-leopards  and  zebras,  howling  jack- 
als and  antelopes,  grinning  monkeys  and  chat- 
tering paroquets,  than  ever  were  seen  in  all  the 
shows  at  Greenwich  fair,  till  we  arrived  at  a 
kraal  of  a  hundred  huts,  for  all  the  world  like 
pigsties,  surrounded  by  a  high  palisade  of  bam- 
boos, and  situated  in  a  forest  of  palms. 

"  I  was  now  the  slave  of  a  chief,  whose  rig- 
ging was  rather  queer,  for  it  consisted  only  of  a 
deep  fringe,  or  kilt,  of  unplaited  grass,  a  necklace 
of  lion's  teeth  and  fish-bones,  and  a  cap  of  leop- 
ard's skin,  on  which  towered  a  plume  of  feathers, 
above  a  row  of  human  teeth  and  sea-shells. 

"  Being  rope-ended  by  an  inch-and-half  colt  — 
aye,  or  keelhauled  once  a  day  from  the  foreyard- 
arm  —  were  jokes  when  compared  to  all  this 
African  nigger  made  me  undergo,  while  working 
for  him  under  a  blazing  sun,  in  pestilent  swamps, 
where  the  very  air  choked  me,  as  if  I  had  been 
in  a  ship  with  a  foul  hold,  for  the  slime  in  these 
canebrakes  was  as  thick  as  tar  and  black  as  old 
bilge-water. 


94  DICK  KODNET. 

"  One  day  he  was  soothing  his  excitement  by 
beating  me  with  a  heavy  bamboo,  till  my  back 
and  arras  were  covered  with  blood.  Close  by 
were  a  whole  gang  of  the  tribe  squatted  under 
a  palm-tree,  smoking  hubble-bubbles  made  of  nut 
shells,  looking  on  and  laughing  at  the  torture 
was  undergoing ;  but  in  the  midst  of  their  sport 
we  heard  a  roar  that  made  our  hearts  tremble, 
and  all  ready  to  scamper  off. 

"  There  was  a  mighty  crashing  and  swaying 
of  the  wild  canes  in  the  adjacent  brake,  and  then 
a  great  square-headed  and  tawny-haired  lion,  as 
large  as  a  good-sized  pony,  and  with  a  tuft  like 
a  swab  at  the  end  of  his  switching  tail,  came 
plunging  forward,  with  eyes  flashing  and  his  red 
mouth  open. 

"  Souse  as  a  sheet  anchor  goes  into  the  sea, 
he  sprang  upon  my  owner,  and  in  the  time  I 
take  to  turn  this  quid.  Master  Rodney,  that 
troublesome  personage  was  borne  off  into  the 
jungle  a  bruised  mass  of  bones  and  blood,  dan- 
gling in  his  jaws. 

"  The  whole  thing  passed  like  a  flash  of  light- 
ning! 

"  At  first  the  niggers  were  about  to  pursue  the 
lion,  but  upon  reflection  they  thought  it  less 
dangerous  to  fall  upon  me  and  kill  me  outright, 
saying  that  my  stupid  cries  had  brought  the  wild 
animal  upon  them.  Then  an  old  fellow,  whose 
wool   had   become  white   with   age,  who   was 


HOW   TOM   "WAS   TATTOED.  95 

coiled  up  in  the  root  of  a  tree,  where  he  gener- 
ally berthed  himself,  and  who  was  considered  a 
wise  man,  came  forward  and  demanded  their 
attention.  He  had  been  a  brave  fellow  in  his 
time,  for  he  wore  a  row  of  human  teeth  at  his 
neck,  all  strung  on  a  lanyard,  with  a  bit  of  an 
old  quart  bottle  which  he  had  found  upon  the 
beach,  and  wore  as  a  '  great  medicine,'  or  order 
of  the  Garter  perhaps.  He  saved  me  by  saying, 
in  their  outlandish  gibberish,  that  I  was  evi- 
dently under  the  protection  of  the  great  Fetish, 
in  honor  of  whom  I  should  be  made  like  them- 
selves, and  handsomely  tattooed. 

"  I  might  as  well  have  hallooed  to  the  wind  in 
a  tearing  pampero  or  a  stiff  reef-tops aU  breeze, 
Master  Rodney,  as  have  attempted  to  oppose 
this  piece  of  Congo  kindness.  In  a  minute  I 
was  hove  down  under  the  nasty  black  paws  of 
five-and-forty  howling  and  jabbering  niggers,  all 
smearing  me  with  palm-oU  out  of  calabashes  and 
old  gallipots,  and  they  persisted  in  rubbing  it 
into  me  till  all  my  skin  was  nearly  peeled  off. 

Then  the  old  Fetish-man  who  lived  in  the 
root  of  the  tree,  after  making  three  summersets 
and  uttering  six  howls,  ornamented  all  my  face, 
hands,  and  arms  in  this  fashion,  using  a  kind  of 
knife,  which  he  dipped  from  time  to  time  in 
some  black  stuff  that  he  carried  in  a  cocoanut- 
shell.  In  ten  minutes  I  was  all  over  serpents 
and  circles,  stripes,  pothooks  and  hangers! 


96  DICK   RODNEY. 

"  It  went  to  my  heart  to  have  my  beauty 
spoiled,  but  I  was  far  past  making  any  opposi- 
tion, and  so  I  have  had  to  go  through  life  in  aU 
weathers,  with  a  face  like  the  clown's  in  a  pan- 
tomime. 

"  They  made  me  so  like  a  nigger  that  thej 
scarcely  knew  me  from  one  of  themselves.  This 
so  favored  my  escape,  that  I  soon  found  an  op- 
portunity of  giving  the  Mussolongos  the  slip  in 
the  night,  and  made  a  shift,  after  many  a  break- 
heart  adventure,  to  reach  a  British  settlement. 

"  I  remember  well  when,  from  a  wild  forest,  I 
saw  before  me  a  long  blue  ridge.  It  was  the 
Sierra  Leona  —  or  the  Mountain  of  the  Lioness, 
as  the  niggers  thereabout  call  it  — the  highest  in 
North  or  South  Guinea.  Glad  was  I,  Master 
Rodney,  to  see  the  flag  of  Old  England  waving 
on  the  fort  and  in  the  bay.  There  was  a  sloop 
of  war  at  anchor  there,  the  Active;  and  when 
she  fired  the  evening  gun  you  would  have 
thought  a  whole  fleet  was  saluting,  there  are  so 
many  echoing  caves  and  dens  in  the  mountains 
and  along  the  shore. 

"  I  soon  made  my  way  home  to  England,  but 
was  more  laughed  at  than  pitied  for  my  queer 
figure-head,  which  frightened  some  folks,  my 
old  mother  especially,  for  she  banged  the  door 
right  in  my  face,  and  called  for  the  police  when 
I  went  to  her  old  bunk  at  Deptford. 

"  However,  I  got  used  to  all  that  sort  of  thing; 


HOW  TOM   WAS   TATTOOED.  97 

but  as  folks  are  so  ill-bred  and  uncharitable 
ashore,  I  have  left  Deptford  forever,  and  keep 
always  afloat,  to  be  out  of  harm's  way.  Bo 
that's  the  yarn  of  how  I  became  tattooed.  Master 
Rodney." 

"  Finish  the  brandy-and-water,  Tom,"  said  I ; 
"  and  now  we  shall  make  a  start  for  the  brig  — 
noon  is  past,  and  the  atmosphere  cooler  than  it 
was." 

"  Your  very  good  health.  Next  time  we  splice 
the  main-brace  ashore,  I  hope  it  will  be  in  Cuba," 
said  Tom,  finishing  the  contents  of  my  flask,  and 
then  becoming  so  jovial  that  he  broke  at  once 
into  an  old  sea-song,  the  last  two  verses  of  which 
were  somewhat  to  this  purpose: 

"  I  learned  to  splice,  to  reef,  and  clew. 
To  drink  my  grog  with  the  best  of  the  crew. 

And  tell  a  meny  story ; 
And  though  I  wasn't  very  big, 
Aloft  I'd  climb ;  nor  aire  a  fig 
To  stand  by  my  gun,  or  dance  a  jig, 

And  all  for  Britain's  gloiy ! 


"  When  home  I  steered  again,  I  found 
My  poor  old  mother  run  aground. 

And  doleful  was  her  story  ; 
She  had  been  cheated  by  a  lawyer  elf, 
Who  man-icd  her  for  her  old  dad's  pelf, 
But  spent  it  all,  then  hanged  himself. 

Hooray  for  Britain's  glory." 

Just  as  Tom  concluded  this  remarkable  ditty, 


98  DICK   RODNEY. 

with  tones  that  made  the  volcanic  grotto  echo  to 

"  glory,"  a  voice  that  made  us  start,  exclaimed 

close  by  us  — 

"  Bucno  I  Ha  !  ha !  Los  Inglesos  borrachios  !  " 
On  hearing  chis  impertinent  reflection  on  our 

sobriety,  we  both  looked  up  and  saw  —  what  the 

next  chapter  will  tell  you. 


DANGEROUS   COMPANY.  99 


CHAPTER  XII. 

DANGEROUS     COMPANY. 

Behind  us  stood  eight  fellows,  five  of  whom 
had  muskets,  and  three  heavy  bludgeons.  They 
were  apparently  Spanish  seafaring  men ;  but 
whether  contrabandistas  of  the  lowest  class,  a 
portion  of  a  slaver's  crew,  or  merely  drunken 
brawlers,  we  could  not  at  first  determine.  How- 
ever, they  soon  made  us  aware  that  robbery  was 
their  object,  and  that  they  were  no  way  averse 
to  a  little  homicide  also,  if  we  interfered  with 
their  plans  in  the  least. 

Some  had  their  coarse,  but  glossy  and  in- 
tensely black  hair,  confined  by  nets  or  cauls ; 
others  had  only  Barcelona  handkerchiefs  round 
their  heads.  The  spots  of  blood  upon  these, 
together  with  several  patches  and  discolored  eyes, 
showed  us  that  these  modern  Iberians  had  been 
fighting  among  themselves.  Their  attire,  which 
consisted  only  of  red  or  blue  shirts  and  dirty  can- 
vas trousers,  was  rather  dilapidated ;  but  some- 
thing of  the  picturesque  was  imparted  to  it  by 
the  sashes  of  glaring  red  and  yellow  worsted 
which  girt  their  waists,  and  in  which  they  had 
long  knives  stuck  conspicuously. 


100  DICK   KODNEY. 

By  their  bearing,  their  dark  glaring  eyes,  their 
muscular  figures,  their  bare  arms,  chests,  and 
feet,  their  bronzed,  sallow,  and  ugly  visages,  — 
and  more  than  all,  by  their  rags,  which  were  re- 
dolent of  garlic  and  coarse  tobacco,  it  was  evident 
that  we  had  fallen  into  unpleasant  society.  Sev- 
eral had  silver  rings  in  their  ears,  and  on  the  bare 
chest  of  one,  I  saw  a  crucifix  marked  either  with 
ink  or  gunpowder. 

These  fellows  had  come  from  the  inner  or 
back  part  of  the  cavern,  where  they  had  evi- 
dently been  observing  us  for  some  time  before 
they  so  suddenly  appeared. 

"  Acqu'ardiente,"  said  one,  approvingly,  as  he 
applied  his  fierce  hooked  nose  to  my  empty 
flask,  and  then  placed  it  in  his  pocket.  A  second 
snatched  away  my  courier-bag,  and  a  third  ap- 
propriated my  telescope,  which  he  stuck  in  his 
sash. 

Taking  up  a  stone  which  lay  at  hand,  I  was 
about  to  hurl  it  at  the  head  of  the  latter  when  the 
muzzle  of  a  cocked  musket  pointed  to  my  breast, 
and  the  butt  of  another  applied  roughly  to  my 
back,  admonished  me  that  discretion  was  the  bet- 
ter part  of  valor. 

"  El  page  de  escoba  —  ha,  ha !  "  (the  cabin 
boy),  said  one  contemptuously,  as  he  examined 
my  attire  —  a  smart  blue  jacket,  with  gilt  anchor 
buttons,  which  Hislop  had  given  me.  My  porte- 
monnaie,  which  contained  only  a  few  shillings, 


DANGEROUS   COMPANY.  101 

and  my  gold  watch,  a  present  given  to  me  by  my 
mother  when  I  went  to  Eton,  were  soon  taken 
from  me.  As  for  poor  Tom,  he  possessed  only 
a  brass  tobacco-box,  a  short  black  pipe,  and  one 
shilling  and  sixpence ;  yet  he  was  speedily  de- 
prived of  them  by  one  who  seemed  to  be  the 
leader  of  the  gang. 

"  You  rascally  Jack  Spaniard !  "  said  Tom, 
shaking  his  clenched  fist  in  the  robber's  face,  "  if 
ever  I  haul  alongside  of  you  elsewhere,  look  out 
for  squalls ! " 

At  this  they  all  laughed ;  and  seizing  us  by  the 
arms,  dragged  us  into  the  back  part  of  the  cav- 
ern or  fissure  in  the  rocks,  leaving  one  of  their 
number,  armed  with  a  musket,  as  sentinel,  at  the 
entrance,  where  he  lit  a  paper  cigar,  and  sti-etch- 
ing  himself  on  the  grassy  bank,  placed  his  hands 
under  his  head,  and  proceeded  leisurely  to  smoke 
in  the  sunshine. 

These  proceedings  filled  us  with  great  alarm  ; 
now  that  they  had  robbed  us  of  everything  save 
our  clothes,  what  could  their  object  be  ? 

One  of  them  produced  two  pieces  of  rope,  with 
which  our  hands  were  tied.  Dragged  by  some, 
and  receiving  severe  blows  and  bruises  from  the 
clenched  hands  and  musket-butts  of  others  — 
accompanied  by  the  imprecations  and  coarse 
laughter  of  aU  —  we  were  conveyed  through  a 
low-roofed  grotto,  or  natural  gallery  in  the  rocks, 


102  DICK   RODNEY. 

the  echoes  of  which  repeated  their  voices  with  a 
tliousand  reverberations. 

The  only  light  here  was  by  the  reflection  of  the 
sunshine  at  the  entrance,  where  the  basalt  was 
coated  by  a  white  substance,  the  debris  of  some 
old  volcanic  eruption  ;  for  the  slope,  up  which  we 
had  been  ascending  all  the  morning,  formed  a 
portion  of  the  great  Peak.  And  now  we  became 
sensible  of  a  strange  sound  and  a  strange  odor 
pervading  all  the  place. 

Through  a  rent  in  the  rocky  roof  of  the  grotto 
there  fell  a  clear  bright  stream  of  sunlight,  that 
revealed  the  terrors  of  the  place  toward  which 
our  captors  dragged  us. 

On  one  side  there  yawned  a  vast  black  fissure 
or  chasm  in  the  sombre  masses  of  glassy  obsidian 
and  red  blocks  of  lava  which  composed  the  floor 
of  that  horrid  cavern  ;  and  from  this  fissure  there 
ascended,  and  doubtless  still  ascends  at  times,  a 
hot  sulphureous  steam,  which  rendered  breathing 
difficult,  and  induced  an  inclination  to  sneeze. 

From  the  depth  of  that  hideous  chasm,  the  pro- 
fundity of  which  no  mortal  eye  could  measure, 
and  no  human  being  could  contemplate  without 
awe  and  terror,  we  heard  a  strange,  buzzing 
sound,  as  if  from  the  bowels  of  the  inner  earth, 
far  —  heaven  alone  knew  how  far  —  down  be- 
low. 

In  fact,  we  were  upon  the  verge  of  one  of  those 
natural    spiracles  which    the    natives    term  "  the 


DANGEROUS   COMPANY.  103 

Nostrils,"  or  avenues  through  which  the  hot 
vapors  of  that  tremendous  Piton  ascend ;  and 
the  buzzing  sound  that  made  our  hearts  shrink, 
we  scarcely  knew  why,  was  caused  by  some  vol- 
canic throe  at  the  bottom  of  the  mountain, 
whose  base  is  many  a  mile  below  the  waters  of 
■*:he  sea. 

This  fissure  was  almost  twelve  feet  broad,  and 
across  it  there  lay  a  plank,  forming  a  species  o^ 
bridge. 

Two  of  our  captors  crossed,  and  then  ordered 
us  to  follow  them. 

I  obeyed  like  one  in  a  dream  ;  but  my  heart 
was  chilled  by  a  terror  so  deadly  that  I  had  no 
power  or  thought  of  resistance.  My  first  fear  was 
that  the  planU  might  be  trundled  from  under  our 
feet,  and  that  we  would  be  launched  into  the 
black  abyss  below  ;  but  such  was  not  the  object 
of  these  Spaniards,  as  Tom  and  I  were  permitted 
to  pass  in  safety. 

The  remainder  of  the  thieves  followed,  and  we 
found  ourselves  in  another  grotto,  the  roof  of 
which  was  covered  by  stalactites,  that  glittered 
like  gothic  pendants  of  alabaster  in  the  light  that 
fell  from  the  upper  fissure,  which  formed  a  natu- 
ral window,  and  through  it  we  could  see  the  thin 
white  steam  ascending  and  curling  in  the  sun- 
shine. 

Now,  supposing  that  they  had  us  in  perfect 
security,  our  captors   proceeded   to  hold  a  con- 


104  DICK   RODNEY. 

sultation  as  to  what  they  should  do  with  us  ;  and 
imagining  that  we  were  both  ignorant  of  their 
language,  or  what  is  more  probable,  caring  httle 
whether  we  knew  it  or  not,  they  canvassed  the 
most  terrible  resolutions  with  perfect  coolness 
and  freedom  of  speech. 


THE  VENTANA.  105 


CHAPTER   XIII. 


THE     VENTANA. 


Tom  Lambourne's  face  wore  somewhat  of  a 
blanched  hue,  through  which  the  stripes  of  his 
tattooing  seemed  blacker  than  ever.  A  severe 
cut  on  his  forehead,  from  which  the  blood  was 
oozing,  did  not  add  to  his  personal  appearance. 
He  scarcely  knew  a  word  of  Spanish,  but  seemed 
instinctively  aware  that  we  had  fallen  into  hands 
nearly  as  dangerous  as  his  former  acquaintances 
the  Mussolongos,  for  he  said,  — 

"  Master  Rodney,  I  fear  we  have  run  our  last 
knot  off  the  log-line,  and  our  sand-glass  wont  run 
again,  unless  heaven  gives  the  order  to  turn. 
Yet,  if  I  could  but  get  one  of  these  muskets,  to 
have  a  shot  at  the  rascally  cargo-puddlers  before 
it's  all  over  with  us,  I  would  be  content.  As  it 
is,  I  am  all  over  blood  from  clew  to  ear-ring,  and 
they  have  wellnigh  choked  me  by  shaking  a  quid 
down  my  throat." 

"  Hush,  Tom,"  said  I,  for  I  was  listening  to  a 
discussion  which  took  place  among  the  Span- 
iards. 

"  Do  you  understand  their  lingo  ?  " 


106  DICK  KODNET. 

«  A  little." 

"  What  are  they  saying  ? "  he  asked,  with 
growing  interest. 

"  I  will  tell  you  immediately." 

But  as  they  all  spoke  at  once  in  the  sonorous 
Spanish  of  the  Catalonian  coast,  mingled  with 
obscure  slang  and  nautical  phrases,  some  time 
elapsed  before  I  could  understand  them.  Mean- 
while, how  terrible  were  the  thoughts  that  filled 
my  mind. 

"  If  these  fellows  murdered  and  cast  us  into 
that  awfid  chasm,  the  deed  would  never  be 
known ;  until  the  day  of  doom,  our  fate  and  our 
remains  could  no  more  be  traced  than  the  smolve 
that  melts  into  the  sky.  Even  if  we  escaped 
unhurt,  but  were  detained  so  long  that  the  brig 
sailed  without  us,  what  would  be  our  condition, 
penniless,  forlorn,  and  unknown,  in  that  foreign 
island  ?     But  this  was  a  minor  evil. 

Then  I  burned  to  revenge  the  lawless  treat- 
ment to  which  we  were  subjected,  and  the  blows 
and  bruises  their  cowardly  hands  had  dealt  so 
freely. 

"  Companeros,"  I  heard  one  say,  "  one  of  these 
fellows  is  tattooed,  and  would  sell  very  well  t  ft 
the  South  American  planters  with  the  rest  that 
will  soon  be  under  hatches.  He  is  worth  keep- 
ing, if  he  cannot  ransom  himself;  as  for  the 
other " 

"  El  muchaco !  "  (the  boy)  said  they,  glancing 
at  me. 


THE  VENTANA.  107 

"  Si  —  el  page  de  escoba  —  if  he  is  allowed  to 
return,  a  complaint  may  find  its  way  to  the 
Senor  Alcalde,  whose  alguazils  may  come  and 
borrow  our  topsails  and  anchor  for  a  time ; 
whereas,  if  we  heave  him  where  the  others  went 
yesterday " 

-  "Where?" 

"  Into  the  ventana,  hombre ! "  was  the  fierci? 
response ;  "  and  then  no  more  will  be  heard  of 
the  atfair." 

My  blood  grew  cold  at  these  words,  and  I 
scarcely  knew  what  followed,  tiU  the  first  man 
who  spoke  came  forward  and  addressed  us. 

"  Inglesos,"  said  he,  "  we  have  decided  that 
one  of  you,  after  swearing  not  to  reveal  our 
present  hiding-place,  shall  return  within  four 
hours,  bearing  a  fitting  ransom  for  both,  else,  so 
surely  as  the  clock  strikes,  he  who  is  left  behind 
goes  into  the  ventana  of  the  mountain,  where 
never  did  the  longest  deep-sea  line  find  a  bottom 

—  not  that  I  suppose  any  man  was  ever  ass 
enough  to  try.  Santos !  do  you  hear  ? "  he 
added,  striking  his  musket-butt  sharply  on  the 
rocks,  when  perceiving  that  Tom  was  ignorant 
of  all  he  said,  and  that  I  was  stupefied  by  it. 

"  Si,  senor,"  said  I,  and  translated  it  to  Tom 
Lambourne,  who  twirled  his  tarry  hat  on  his 
fore-finger,  stuck  his  quid  in  his  cheek,  slapped 
his  thigh  vigorously,  and  gave  other  nautical 
manifestations  of  extreme  surprise  and  discom- 
posure. 


108  DICK   RODNEY. 

"  Ransom,  Master  Rodney  ?  "  he  reiterated ; 
"  in  the  name  of  old  Davy,  who  would  ransom  a 
poor  Jack  like  me  ?  " 

"  The  whole  crew  would  table  their  month's 
wages  on  the  capstan  head  —  aye,  in  a  moment, 
Tom,"  I  replied  with  confidence. 

"  I'm  sure  they  would,  and  the  Captain  and 
Master  Hislop,  too,  for  the  matter  o'  that,  rather 
than  poor  shipmates  should  come  to  harm ; 
but " 

"  As  for  me"  said  I,  with  growing  confidence, 
"  I  am,  as  you  said,  senores,  only  the  page  de 
escoba." 

"  Bah ! "  said  the  Spaniard,  grinning,  and 
showing  a  row  of  sharp  white  teeth,  under  a 
dirty  and  sable  moustache ;  "  though  I  said  so,  I 
knew  better.  A  shipboy  seldom  has  a  watch 
like  this,"  he  added,  displaying  my  gold  repeater. 
"  Now,  we  shall  keep  you;  and  if  this  seaman  — 
after  he  has  first  sworn  that  he  will  not  betray  us 
—  does  not  return  to  us  here  with  five  hundred 
dollars  within  two  hours  after  sunset,  par  el "  — 
(here  he  made  a  dreadful  vow  in  Spanish),  "  we 
will  toss  you  like  a  dead  dog  into  the  ventana 
of  the  mountain.  Look  down,  and  see  what  a 
journey  is  before  you,"  he  added,  with  a  diabol- 
ical smile,  as  he  dragged  me  to  the  beetling  edge 
of  the  chasm,  and  forced  me  to  look  into  it. 

Our  eyes  had  now  become  so  accustomed  to 
the  light  of  the  gallery  or  grotto,  that  the  rays  of 


THE   VENTANA.  109 

Bunshine  falling  through  the  fissure  above  us 
were  sufficient  to  disclose  a  portion  of  the  vast 
profundity  on  the  verge  of  which  we  stood. 

From  the  earth's  womb,  far,  far  down  below, 
there  came  upward  a  choking  steam,  with  a  hol- 
low buzzing  sound,  which  deepened  at  times  to 
a  rumble. 

This  steam  or  mist  rose  and  fell  on  the  cur- 
rents of  air ;  sometimes  it  sank  so  low  that 
nothing  but  a  black  and  dreary  void  met  the  eye, 
which  ached  in  attempting  to  pierce  it.  Anon 
the  steam  would  rise  in  spiral  curls  from  that 
gloomy  bed  below,  where  doubtless  the  fires  of 
the  now  almost  extinct  volcano  seethe  their  em- 
bers in  the  waves  of  the  ocean. 

The  words  "have  mercy,"  were  on  my  lips, 
but  I  could  not  utter  them ;  nor  would  they 
have  availed  me.  Ignorant  of  what  the  ruffian 
said,  and  believing  he  was  about  to  thrust  me  in, 
poor  Tom  Lambourne,  in  the  fulness  of  his  heart, 
tittered  a  howl  of  dismay ;  and  at  that  moment 
the  sentinel,  whom  the  gang  had  left  at  the 
entrance  to  their  lurking-place,  came  hurriedly  in, 
with  alarm  expressed  in  his  glittering  eyes,  and  a 
finger  placed,  as  a  warning,  on  his  hairy  lip. 

"  Para !  Paz  !  Silenzio  I  "  (hold  —  peace  —  si- 
lence), he  exclaimed,  and  added  that  four  officers 
from  the  garrison  of  Santa  Cruz  had  dismounted 
in  the  ravine,  unbitted  their  horses,  and  had 
seated  themselves  under  a  tree  to  smoke, 

10 


110  DICK   RODNEY. 

This  information  was  received  by  the  band 
with  oaths  and  mutterings  of  impatience  ;  and 
by  us  with  mingled  emotions  of  hope  and  agony 
-  hope  that  they  might  be  the  means  of  our  es- 
cape or  rescue ;  and  agony  to  know  that  such 
means  were  so  near,  and  yet  could  avail  us  noth- 
ing ;  for  on  the  slightest  sound  being  made  by 
either  of  us,  there  were  the  Albacete  knives  of 
our  captors  on  one  hand,  and  the  ventana  —  that 
awful  ventana  —  on  the  other,  to  insure  forever 
the  silence  and  oblivion  of  the  grave. 

Not  the  least  of  my  sufferings  was  from  the 
cord  which  secured  my  wrists.  Already  the  skin 
was  swollen,  cut,  and  bleeding  in  consequence 
of  the  tightness  with  which  these  wretches  had 
bound  me. 


SEQUEL   TO   OUR   ADVENTURE.  Ill 


CHAPTER    XIV. 

SEQUEL    TO     OUR    ADVENTURE. 

For  two  hours  —  they  seemed  an  eternity  to 
tne  —  it  would  appear,  the  four  Spanish  officers 
lingered  over  their  wine-flasks  and  cigars  in  the 
wooded  ravine,  their  movements  being  duly  re- 
ported from  time  to  time  by  one  of  the  outlaws, 
who  stole  to  the  cavern  mouth  and  peeped  out. 

At  last,  they  mounted  and  rode  off,  when  a 
fresh  cause  for  wrath  and  delay  was  produced 
by  the  announcement  that  a  wagon,  drawn  by 
mules  and  attended  by  several  laborers  and  ne- 
groes, had  broken  down  on  the  road  about  a  mile 
distant. 

The  irritation  of  our  Spaniards  —  some  of 
whom  spoke  of  having  a  ship  to  join  —  was  now 
so  great,  that  I  feared  they  might  end  the  whole 
affair  by  disposing  of  us  in  a  summary  manner. 

This  wagon  being  heavily  laden  caused  a  de- 
lay for  several  hours.  The  sun's  rays  ceased  to 
shine  through  the  fissure  above  us ;  the  grotto 
grew  dark  by  the  increase  of  imperceptible  shad- 
ows ;  the  dingy  faces  of  our  olive-skinned  de- 
tainers grew  darker  still ;  and  their  impatience 


112  DICK  RODNEY. 

was  only  surpassed  by  ours,  for  we,  too,  had  a 
ship  to  rejoin. 

Every  minute  of  these  hours  —  every  second 
of  every  minute  —  passed  slowly,  like  a  pang  of 
agony  in  my  heart ;  and  every  feature  of  that 
natural  vault,  through  which  the  dying  dayhght 
stole  —  with  the  faces  and  voices  of  the  men 
whose  victims  we  were,  and  more  than  all,  the 
ceaseless  and  eternal  buzz  in  the  dark  chasm  that 
yawned  close  by  —  the  ventana,  or  nostril  of  the 
Piton  —  are  yet  vividly  impressec  upon  my  mem- 
ory. 

At  last  the  darkness  was  so  great,  that  a  lan- 
tern was  hghted,  and  its  wavering  gleams,  as 
Ipi  they  fell  on  the  crystals,  the  spar,  quartz,  and 

glassy  blocks  of  black  obsidian  and  ruddy  lava 
which  formed  the  walls  and  arch  of  the  cavern, 
on  the  dark  ferocious  visages,  the  gaudy  sashes, 
the  naked  arms  and  feet,  the  scrubby  black  beards, 
and  brass-mounted  knives,  and  muskets  of  the 
taciturn  Spaniards,  who  sat  in  a  sullen  group 
smoking  paper  cigaritos,  —  aU  added  to  the 
gloomy  but  picturesque  horror  of  the  place  and 
of  the  incident. 

"  Antonio,  que  hora  es  ?  "  I  heard  one  say,  in- 
quiring the  time. 

"  Las  neuve  y  media,  companero  mio  "  (half- 
past   nine),   replied   the    possessor    of  my  gold 
watch,   which   he   consulted   with   considerable 
r  complacency. 


SEQUEL   TO    OUR   ADVENTURE.  113 

"  Maldita ! "  growled  the  others,  knitting  their 
brows,  for  the  dusk  was  rapidly  becoming  dark- 
ness, and  they  had  no  desire  for  killing  us,  if  we 
CO  aid  be  made  profitable.  I  have  often  thought 
since,  that  had  Tom  actually  procured  and  re- 
turned with  the  required  ransom  of  five  hundred 
dollars,  they  would  have  pocketed  it  and  then 
killed  us  both  —  me  most  certainly,  as  they 
seemed  to  have  other  views  for  poor  Tom  in  the 
Southern  States. 

"  We  have  had  a  long  speU  of  this,"  said  he, 
in  a  low  voice.  "  I  am  going  to  escape,  if  I 
can." 

"  Escape  !  but  how  ?  " 

"  I  don't  know  exactly  how,  yet ;  but  we  must 
first  have  our  lashings  cast  off." 

"  Would  to  Heaven  they  were,  Tom.  My 
hands  are  so  swollen,  and  my  wrists  so  cut  and 
benumbed,  that  my  arms  are  wellnigh  powerless," 
I  whispered  in  a  low  voice,  like  a  groan. 

"  Sit  with  me  here,  in  the  shadow  of  this  an- 
gle of  rock  ;  and  now,  as  the  darkness  is  fairly  set 
in,  I  shall  soon  make  you  free." 

By  a  rapid  and  skilful  application  of  his  strong 
teeth  to  the  cord  v/hich  bound  my  wrists,  he  un- 
twisted the  knot  and  freed  my  hands ;  and  then 
in  the  suddenly-given  luxury  of  being  able  to 
stretch  my  arms,  I  almost  forgot  the  necessity  for 
concealing  the  fact  that  I  was  now  unbound. 

I  soon  found  an  opportunity  for  untying  Tom's 

10* 


114  DICK   RODNEY. 

fetters  Then  we  kept  our  hands  clasped  before 
us,  as  if  still  manacled,  and  watched,  waited,  and 
hoped — we  scarcely  knew  for  what — while  in 
the  further  end  of  this  inner  cave,  our  detainers 
sat  sullenly  smoking,  and,  by  the  dim  lantern 
light,  making  up  cigaritos  from  their  tobacco- 
pouches,  and  those  little  rice-paper  books  which 
are  nov  procurable  nearly  everywhere. 

From  the  conversation  of  our  captors,  I  could 
gather  that  our  brig,  the  Eugenie,  was  visible  at 
anchor  in  the  roadstead  of  Santa  Cruz,  a  mile  or 
so  distant. 

Three  of  these  Spaniards  had  placed  their  mus- 
kets against  the  wall  of  rock,  and  seemed  dis- 
posed to  doze  off  asleep. 

Close  by  us  lay  the  plank  which  crossed  that 
dread  ventana,  like  the  infernal  bridge  of  Poul- 
sherro,  which  the  Mahomraedans  believe  crosses 
the  sea  of  fire  that  on  the  day  of  doom  shall  sep- 
arate Good  from  Evil.  Tom  and  I  looked  at  it, 
and  exchanged  glances  of  intelligence  from  time 
to  time,  but  the  attempt  to  rush  across  might 
prove  doubly  fatal  to  one  or  both.  A  slip  of  the 
foot  would  hurl  us  into  eternity  ;  and  if  the  pas- 
sage were  achieved,  we  would  be  exposed  to  the 
fire  of  those  we  fled  from,  and  met  by  that  of  the 
armed  man  at  the  mouth  of  the  grotto. 

Thus  our  position  and  its  perils  were  some- 
what complicated. 

Suddenly  the  distant  report  of  a  piece  of  ord- 


SEQUEL   TO    OUR   ADVENTURE.  115 

nance,  coming  from  the   seaward,  made    us   all 
look  up  and  listen. 

"  El  ruido  que  hace  el  canon !  "  (the  crack  of  a 
gun),  exclaimed  a  Spaniard,  scrambling  up  to 
the  lower  end  of  the  fissure  in  the  arch  of  the 
grotto,  and  looking  out. 

"  We  all  know  that  well  enough ;  but  what 
does  it  mean  ?  "  asked  the  other. 

"  The  English  brig  at  the  anchorage  has  fired 
it.  I  see  a  light  glittering  on  her  deck  ;  and  now 
away  it  goes  up  to  the  foremast  head." 

"  It  is  the  Eug-enie,  Master  Rodney,"  whis- 
pered Tom. 

"  Can  the  captain  be  about  to  sail  to-night,  — 
and  without  us  ?  "  said  I,  with  growing  dismay. 

"  No ;  but  he  is  impatient  for  us  to  come  off. 
He  knows  well  v/hat  a  'tarnal  slippery  set  of 
imps  these  Jack  Spaniards  are,  and  has  shown  a 
light,  and  fired  a  gun  as  a  hint  for  us  to  look 
sharp." 

"  Companero,"  said  one  of  the  Spaniards  to 
the  other  who  was  looking  out,  "  are  you  sure 
that  it  is  the  English  brig,  and  not  ours  ?" 

"  Yes ;  but  by  St.  Paul!  there  is  a  light  burn- 
ing now  on  the  Castello  de  Santa  Cruz ;  so  our 
craft  had  better  get  her  sweeps  out,  and  put  to 
sea,  even  without  us.  Can  the  Senor  Gober- 
nador  have  smelt  a  rat  ?  " 

This  announcement,  though  we  knew  not  what 
it  referred  to,  had  an  evident    effect  on  our  cap- 


116  DICK   RODNEY. 

tors,  who  were  probably  part  of  a  slaver's  crew; 
for  they  all  scrambled  up  tc  the  opening  in  the 
rocks  to  look  out. 

"  Now,  now  is  the  time  to  slip  our  cables  and 
run.  Follow  me  !  "  said  Tom  Lambourne,  in  a 
hoarse  but  determined  whisper,  as  he  sprang  for- 
ward —  snatched  up  two  of  the  muskets,  and 
rushed  across  the  plank,  tripping  as  lightly  as  he 
would  have  done  along  a  boom  or  yard,  though 
it  crossed  a  gulf  so  terrible. 

Less  steadily,  but  not  less  rapidly,  you  may  be 
assured  —  yet  with  a  frozen  heart  —  I  followed 
him,  and  his  hard  tarry  hand  was  ready  to  grasp 
mine  and  drag  me  forward  into  safety,  while  with 
a  violent  kick  he  tossed  the  plank  away,  and 
sm-ging  down  it  went,  into  the  black  gulf  we  had 
crossed. 

It  vanished  in  a  moment,  and  no  sound  ever 
ascended,  for  it  seemed  to  have  fallen  into  a  pit 
that  was  dark  as  it  was  bottomless  ! 

"  Take  this  musket,  and  see  that  you  can  use 
it,  sir,"  said  Tom,  as  an  emotion  of  bravado 
seized  him.  "  And  so,  you  Spanish  greenhorns," 
he  shouted,  "  you  thought  to  sell  me  for  a  nigger 
to  the  Yankees,  did  you  ?     Whoop  —  hurrah ! " 

A  volley  of  Spanish  oaths  followed  this  rash 
outburst,  wdiich  drew  their  attention  at  once 
upon  us.  Some  rushed  to  the  dark  brink  and 
paused,  I  suppose,  for  neither  Tom  nor  I  could 
see  distinctly,  as  there  was  a  double  explosion 


SEQUEL   TO   OUR   ADVENTURE.  117 

which  filled  the  cavern  with  echoes  like  those  of 
rolling  thunder,  anci  a  momentary  glare  of  snnioky 
light,  while  two  musket-balls  whistled  past  us ; 
and  I  felt  one  like  a  hot  cinder,  as  it  grazed  my 
left  ear.  Then  came  an  Albacete  knife,  which 
was  hurled  by  no  erring  hand,  for  it  wounded 
Tom's  right  knee. 

"  Give  them  a  shot,  Mr.  Rodney,"  said  he,  furi- 
ously ;  "  I'll  reserve  my  fire  for  the  sentry,  —  and 
here  he  is  already !  " 

And  just  as  the  eighth  fellow,  who  was  on  the 
watch,  alarmed  by  the  firing,  came  rushing  in 
with  his  piece  at  full  cock,  Tom  fired  at  him. 

"  Saints  and  angels  I "  yelled  the  Spaniard,  as 
he  bounded  into  the  air,  and  then  fell  flat  on  his 
face,  where  he  lay  beating  the  earth  with  his 
feet  and  hands. 

"  Fire !  fire !  Master  Rodney,  and  then  run 
for  it,  before  they  can  reload,"  cried  Tom,  who 
saw  that  I  was  u'resolute ;  "  give  'em  a  stern 
chaser ! " 

My  blood  was  now  fairly  up.  "Wheeling 
round,  I  levelled  full  at  the  group,  one  of  whom 
was  in  the  act  of  taking  aim  at  me ;  while  I  saw 
the  steel  ram-rod  of  the  other,  who  had  a  musket, 
gUtter  in  the  lantern  fight  as  he  reloaded. 

I  fired !  I  know  not  whether  the  ball  hit ;  but 
one  of  the  ruffians  sprang  wildly  forward,  and 
fell  headlong  into  the  ventana  ! 

«  That  will  do  !  "  cried  Tom  ;  "  away  now,  as 


118  DICK    RODNEY. 

fast  as  we  can  —  stretch  out  —  bear  away  for  the 
harbor  and  the  brig !  " 

Grasping  our  newly-acquired  weapons,  which 
we  never  thought  of  rehnquishing,  we  rushed 
out,  and  descending  the  ravine,  favored  by  the 
starhght,  instinctively  took  the  path  which  led 
directly  to  the  harbor. 

With  a  heart  that  beat  wildly,  a  head  in  a 
whirl  of  thoughts,  and  every  pulse  quickened  by 
the  whole  affair — by  the  ferocious  treatment  to 
which  we  had  been  subjected  for  so  many  hours; 
by  the  perils  which  had  menaced  us ;  by  the  nar- 
row escapes  we  had  made  from  bullets,  and  when 
twice  crossing  that  awful  chasm ;  by  the  wild 
and  disastrous  tragedy  which  closed  the  adven- 
tures of  a  long  and  exciting  day,  —  I  ran  beside 
Tom  Lambourne  ;  on,  on,  without  a  breath  to 
spare  or  a  word  to  utter. 

Headlong  we  stumbled  over  piles  of  old  lava  , 
now  we  sank  ankle  deep  among  solt  pumice 
dust ;  anon  we  rolled,  fell,  or  scrambled  through 
wild  vines  and  creepers ;  then  through  fields  of 
growing  maize  and  wheat,  or  plantations  of  cof- 
fee and  apple  trees ;  but  never  paused  until  we 
reached  the  base  of  the  mighty  Piton,  where, 
breathless,  gasping,  panting,  and  bathed  in  per- 
spiration, we  lay  down  in  a  little  thicket  of  cin- 
namon bushes  by  the  wayside,  to  rest  for  a  short 
space. 

During  this  flight  I  had  never  spoken,  but  Tom 


SEQUEL  TO   OUR  ADVENTURE.  119 

from  time  to  time  indulged  in  disjointed  remarks 
expressive  of  an  exultation  in  which  I  could  not 
share,  being  only  thankful  to  heaven  for  my  es- 
cape. But  poor  Tom  had  seen  more  of  a  rough 
life,  and  of  many  a  violent  death,  than  it  could 
possibly  have  been  my  lot  to  witness. 

"  Ha,  ha!  you  Spanish  swabs!  We've  slung 
two  of  your  hammocks  in  a  hot  place  —  before 
the  time,  perhaps  ! "  said  he.  "  What  a  row 
they  made,  like  so  many  niggers  clearing  a  cargo, 
when  we  sheered  off !  Lucky  it  was  that  I  eased 
off  our  tow-lines  in  time  I  I  have  a  good  mind 
to  put  about,  stand  for  the  cave,  and  pot  another 
of  those  Spanish  gorillas  !  " 

Whether  he  meant  guerillas  I  did  not  inquire, 
but  was  happy  when  we  reached  the  harbor,  and 
I  felt  the  cool  breeze  of  the  ocean  fan  my  throb- 
bing temples  and  my  hands,  which,  from  being 
so  long  and  so  tightly  tied  with  rough  cords,  and 
having  the  blood  afterwards  driven  through  them 
by  rapid  exertion,  felt  literally  burning  hot. 

All  was  dark  and  still  when  we  ran  along  the 
stone  mole  of  Santa  Cruz.  Fortunately,  at  that 
late  hour,  there  were  no  officials  to  question  or 
molest  us  ;  and  we  could  see  the'  brig  anchored 
about  half  a  mile  distant,  with  the  lantern  still 
burning  at  the  foremasthead.  The  hght  on  the 
Castle  had  disappeared. 

We  soon  found  a  small  punt  at  the  landing 
stairs,  and  taking  possession  of  it  without  leave, 
cast  loose  the  painter  and  shoved  oil: 


120  DICK   RODNEY. 

Silently  and  steadily,  with  all  our  remaining 
strength  we  pulled  for  the  brig,  and  were  soon 
alongside. 

"  Well,  this  spree  is  over.  Master  Rodney," 
said  Tattooed  Tom,  wiping  his  brow  with  his 
sleeve  when  we  stood  on  the  deck,  where  the 
wondering  crew  gathered  round  us  ;  "  but  catch 
me  having  another  in  this  deuced  Tenny  Reef, 
—  that's  aU!" 


THE   ANCUOR   A-PEAK.  121 


CHAPTER   XV 

THE    ANCHOR    A-PEAK. 

Alaemed  by  the  foregoing  narrative,  which 
was  fully  corroborated  by  our  excitement,  t  y 
the  two  muskets  we  had  brought  on  board  as 
trophies,  by  the  state  of  our  hands  and  wrists, 
and  the  numerous  cuts  a)id  bruises  we  had  upon 
us  ;  and  fearing  the  consequent  detention  of  the 
brig  for  some  legal  inquiry.  Captain  Weston  pre- 
pared at  once  for  putting  to  sea. 

I  was  happy  when  finding  myself  on  the  deck 
of  the  Eugenie^  but  stiU  more  supremely  happy 
on  hearing  Weston's  resolution  to  get  under  way, 
as  I  possessed  very  vague  but  decidedly  unpleas- 
ant ideas  of  Spanish  justice,  and  had  visions  of 
alcaldes,  alguazils,  wheels,  garottes,  and  even  the 
masked  familiars  of  the  Iniiuisition  itself,  floating 
before  me. 

My  heart  beat  responsive  to  the  clank  of  the 
windlass  pawls,  as  the  Eugenie  was  hove  short 
on  her  anchor,  and  the  hands  started  aloft  to 
cast  loose  the  topsails. 

Weston  threw  our  two  muskets  into  the  sea, 
lest  their  discovery  on  bocird  might  cause  suspi- 
cion or  annoyance. 

11 


122  DICK    RODNEY. 

The  morning  was  clear,  cool,  and  starry  ;  i-.r 
yet  no  vestige  of  dawn  was  visible,  and  all  was 
still  and  quiet  on  shore  ;  but  I  was  in  momen- 
tary expectation  of  seeing  a  boat  dash  off  toward 
us,  though  those  from  whom  we  had  escaped 
could  have  no  just  cause  of  complaint. 

Suddenly  I  heard  the  sound  of  oars,  and  saw 
a  long,  low  boat  shoot  out  from  the  obscurity  of 
the  harbor.  My  heart  stood  still  for  a  moment 
as  this  craft  was  steered  in  our  direction,  but  to 
my  infinite  relief  it  boarded  a  Costa  Rican  that 
lay  near  us. 

As  yet  the  shadows  of  night  were  on  land  and 
sea,  —  on  every  thing  save  the  cone  of  the  Peak 
that  towered  above  the  clouds,  and  there  shone 
the  light  of  the  yet  unrisen  sun,  yellow  deepen- 
ing into  saffron,  purple,  blue,  and  then  indigo, 
blending  with  the  blackness  of  night  as  the  eye 
descended  to  the  shore. 

So  Weston  gave  the  order  to  brace  the  fore- 
yards  aback  and  the  mainyards  fuU ;  another 
wrench  at  the  windlass  and  the  anchor  was 
tripped. 

"  Heave  and  a-wash  !  "  cried  Tom  Lambourne, 
cheerily,  giving  the  usual  call  of  encouragement, 
when  the  dripping  anchor-ring  is  just  out  of  the 
water,  and  the  stock  is  seen  to  stir  the  surface. 

The  courses  were  let  fall  and  the  gib  was 
hoisted ;  her  head  fell  rapidly  round  and  she 
payed  off  bravely      Then  the  fiery  cone  of  the 


THE  ANCHOR   A-PEAK.  123 

Piton  and  the  lights  of  Santa  Cruz  which  had 
glittered  in  tremulous  lines  along  the  water  on 
our  beam  were  shining  upon  our  lee  quarter. 

"  Fill  away  the  headyards — handsomely  now! " 
cried  Weston,  and  just  as  the  first  streak  of  day, 
coming  on  with  tropical  rapidity,  began  to 
brighten  the  horizon,  and  shed  long  shiny  rip- 
ples on  the  sea,  the  canvas  swelled  out,  the  reef 
points  began  to  patter  on  the  taut  bosom  of 
every  snow-white  sail,  and  the  loose  rigging  was 
blown  out  in  graceful  bends. 

There  was  a  fine  breeze  rising ;  the  white 
water  rippled  under  the  forefoot  of  the  Eugenie^ 
and  soon  it  boiled  in  foam  as  we  sheeted  home 
the  topsails  and  ran  along  the  western  shore  of 
the  mountain  isle. 

About  the  same  time  the  Costa  Rican  brig  which 
was  at  anchor  nearer  the  shore  (a  smart  craft  she 
was,  straight  in  the  bends  and  all  black,  save  a 
yellow  streak),  also  got  ready  for  sea  with  great 
expedition  and  worked  out  of  the  harbor ;  and 
when  the  hot  sun,  which  erewhile  had  lit  up  the 
vast  continent  of  Africa  to  the  eastward  of  us 
rose  from  the  ocean,  we  saw  her  black  hull  and 
white  canvas  shining  in  his  morning  rays  about 
a  mile  astern. 

"  You  say,  Marc,  that  craft  is  a  Costa  Rican  ?  " 
said  Weston,  doubtfully. 

"  Yes,  sir,"  replied  Hislop. 

"  She  may  be,  but  she  is  also  a  Spanish  dealei 


124  DICK   RODNEY. 

In  black  cattle,"  said  Weston,  who  was  looking 
at  her  through  a  powerful  double-barrelled  glass. 
'  I  am  certain  if  you  could  only  see  her  deck 
vvhen  she  careens  a  bit,  you  would  make  out 
the  ring-bolts  for  lashing  the  slaves  to  in  fine 
weather." 

"  Aye,  and  perhaps  those  for  the  carronades 
too,"  added  Hislop  ;  "  she  looks  rather  rakish." 

"  You  are  just  of  my  mind,  sir,"  added  Tom 
Lambourne,  who  was  at  the  wheel.  "  She'll  see 
Ihe  Shark's  Nose  and  the  Congo  river  before  she 
sees  the  Mosquito  creeks  or  the  hills  of  Costa 
Rica ;  and  I  have  a  shrewd  notion  that  the  pi- 
rates we  escaped  from  last  night  are  part  of  her 
crew,  if  one  may  judge  from  what  Master  Rod- 
ney, who  knows  their  lingo,  overheard  them  say." 

Except  across  the  PeaJc  of  Teneriffe,  where  a 
cloud  of  white  vapor  floated  in  mid-air  like  a 
permanent  cymar  or  girdle,  and  above  which 
Pome  thousand  feet  of  the  mighty  cone  towered 
into  the  blue  immensity  of  space,  mellowing 
from  green  and  purple  to  a  faint-gray  tint,  the 
sky  was  without  a  cloud. 

The  waves  danced  and  sparkled  in  the  morn- 
ing sunshine,  the  fresh  breeze  swept  pleasantly 
over  their  whitening  tops  and  whistled  through 
our  rigging,  as  we  ran  along  the  shore  with  con- 
siderable speed  ;  and  now  our  hearts  beat  lightly, 
for  the  broad  free  ocean  v/as  around  us,  and  on 
clearing  the  dangerous  rocks  at  Punta  de  Anaga 


THE  ANCHOR  A-PEAK.  125 

by  giving  them  a  wide  berth,  we  felt  the  heavier 
swell  of  the  Atlantic  as  we  brought  the  larboard 
tacks  on  board,  and  ran,  close-hauled,  on  a  taut 
bowline  between  the  Isles  of  TenerifFe  and  Palma, 
keeping  the  weathergage  of  the  Costa  Kican, 
and  leaving  her  at  tlie  same  time  fast  and  far 
astern. 

We  had  a  delightful  run  through  the  fertile 
Archipelago  of  the  Fortunate  Isles,  and  after 
clearing  San  Josef,  found  the  wind  come  more 
aft.  Long  after  night  had  closed  in,  and  dark- 
ness had  enveloped  all  the  sea  and  the  isle  of 
TenerifFe,  the  cone  of  the  Peak  shone  redly  in 
mid-air,  with  the  light  of  the  sun  that  had  set  in 
the  western  waters  of  the  Atlantic. 

For  the  whole  of  that  day  we  had  run  fast 
through  the  water,  making  at  least  seven  knots 
an  hour  off  the  log-line,  but  midnight  came  be- 
fore we  saw  the  last  of  the  mighty  Peak  of  Adam. 

By  that  time  the  wind  was  fair,  and  we  bore 
merrily  away  for  the  Isles  of  the  West. 
11* 


126  DICK   RODNEY. 


CHAPTER   XVI. 


AN    INCIDENT. 


By  the  time  we  had  been  a  month  at  sea,  hav- 
ing ajjplied  myself  assiduously  to  work,  I  picked 
up  a  little  knowledge  of  seamanship.  I  took  my 
turn  of  watch  with  the  rest ;  I  learned  to  go 
aloft  and  to  lay  out  upon  a  yard  in  a  stiff  topgal- 
lant breeze.  I  acquired  all  the  mysteries  of  knot- 
ting and  splicing,  of  serving  a  rope  with  spun- 
yarn,  and  to  know  the  technical  difference  be- 
tween the  rope  itself  and  a  line.  I  could  heave 
the  log,  box  the  compass,  and  take  my  "  trick  " 
at  the  helm  with  the  best  man  on  board,  and 
thus  gained  the  golden  opinions  of  those  among 
whom  a  rough  turn  of  the  wheel  of  fortune  had 
so  strangely  and  so  suddenly  cast  me. 

Some  days  after  leaving  the  Canaries,  we 
found  ourselves  passing  through  what  seemed 
to  be  immense  meadows  of  green  stuff  adrift 
By  moonlight  the  branches,  leaves,  and  fibres  of 
this  uprooted  marine  forest,  —  for  such  it  was, 
being  wrack  and  seaweeds  of  wondrous  length 
springing  from  the  lowest  depths  of  the  ocean  — 
sparkled,  flashed,  and  whirled   in  the  foaming 


AN   INCIDENT.  1^7 

eddies  astern  of  the  brig  as  she  cleft  or  brushed 
down  the  yielding  masses  with  her  rushing  keel. 

I  was  never  weary  of  surveying  this  scene, 
which  was  so  marvellous  in  its  beauty,  when  the 
moon  was  shining  on  the  sea. 

These  vast  broad  leaves  and  long  snaky  ten- 
drils that  danced  upon  the  surface  of  the  sea 
were  the  Florida  gulf-weed. 

"  The  tropical  grape  of  the  sailors,"  said  His- 
lop,  as  we  leaned  over  the  lee-quarter  one  eve- 
ning. "  These  plants  grow  upon  the  two  great 
banks  of  the  Atlantic,  and  were  known  to  the 
Phoenicians,  who  named  them  the  Weedy  Sea." 

"  I  remember,"  said  I ;  "  and  that  the  seamen 
of  Columbus  thought  they  were  sent  by  heaven 
to  stay  their  course." 

"  You  are  right,"  replied  the  mate,  with  an 
approving  smile.  "  It  is  pleasant  to  meet  one 
like  you,  Rodney,  who  has  read  that  which  is 
worth  reading  and  remembers  it." 

"  The  Gulf  Stream,"  said  Weston,  joining  in 
the  conversation,  "  is  a  great  current  about  sixty 
miles  broad,  caused  by  the  trade  winds,  which 
always  blow  from  east  to  west.  It  issues  from 
the  Gulf  between  Cape  Florida  and  Cuba,  and 
runs  at  the  rate  of  three  knots  an  hour  along  the 
shores  of  South  and  North  America,  till  the 
Newfoundland  bank  turns  it  to  the  south-east; 
80  everywhere  its  track  is  known  by  that  gulf- 
weed  which  you  now  see  floating  past." 


128  DICK   RODNEY. 

It  is  by  this  mysterious  current  —  this  mighty 
river  that  traverses  the  ocean — that  the  timber 
logs  of  the  St.  Lawrence,  the  wrecks  of  the  old 
plate  argosies,  and  the  carved  idols  of  older 
Mexico  and  the  Caribbean  Isles,  all  covered  with 
the  weeds  and  barnacles  of  long  immersion,  have 
been  cast  upon  the  western  shores  of  Scotland 
and  the  Hebrides. 

Every  morning  the  weather  became  warmer  — 
the  sea  and  sky  more  clear  —  the  atmosphere 
more  rarefied.  The  wind  was  so  steady  that 
scarcely  a  sheet  or  tack  were  altered.  Thus  for 
several  days  we  bore  on  with  both  sheets  aft,  as 
the  phrase  is,  when  running  right  before  the  wind. 

Shoals  of  porpoises  plunged  across  the  bows 
of  the  brig  in  the  sapphire-colored  sea,  and  when 
it  was  smooth  a  whole  fleet  of  the  little  nautilus 
passed  us  with  purple  sails  up  ;  nor  were  the 
dark  and  gliding  shark  and  the  silvery  flying-fish 
wanting  at  times  to  keep  my  attention  excited  ; 
and  the  tiny  petrels,  as  they  came  tripping  along, 
half  in  water  and  half  in  air,  kept  pace  with  the 
Eugenie,  as  she  cracked  on  under  a  press  of  sail, 
dashing  the  waves  around  her,  ploughing  so 
freely  and  so  fearlessly  the  deep  waters  that  hide 
a  finny  world,  and  wash  the  dark  and  unknown 
basements  of  the  earth. 

One  glorious  morning,  when  we  were  within 
a  few  days'  sail  of  Hispaniola,  there  occurred  a 
circumstance  which  was  afterwards  a  source  of 


AN  INCIDENT.  129 

the  deepest  regret  to  us  all ;  how  and  why,  will 
be  shown  during  the  progress  of  my  story. 

The  day  was  fine,  even  for  that  region  of  fine 
days.  The  Eug-enie  was  running  smoothly  be- 
fore the  wind,  and  Hislop,  with  considerable  ani- 
mation, was  detailing  to  the  captain  and  me  the 
appearance  of  that  rare  phenomenon,  a  lunar 
rainbow,  which  by  singular  good  fortune  he  had 
once  seen  in  these  latitudes,  and  which  Aristotle 
declares  is  never  seen  but  at  the  time  of  the  full 
moon,  —  a  declaration  which  our  learned  Scotch 
mate  ti-eated  with  contempt;  for  he  was  a  strange 
fellow,  this  Marc  Hislop,  and  could  with  equal 
facility  dilate  on  the  Apology  of  Plato,  and  the 
method  of  club-hauling  a  square-rigged  vessel,  or 
sheering  her  to  her  anchor  in  a  gale  of  wind  ;  on 
the  Prometheus  of  ^schylus,  or  the  proper  mode 
of  lying  too  in  a  hurricane,  with  every  thing 
struck  aloft,  and  topsail  yards  on  the  cap  ;  and 
now,  on  the  subject  of  the  lunar  rainbow,  he  was 
proceeding  to  quote  from  the  Portuguese  Pilot 
of  Ramusio,  when  Weston  interrupted  him  by 
hailing  aloft. 

"  Fore-top  —  there  !  " 

"  Aye,  aye,  sir,"  was  the  usual  response  fron 
Ned  Carlton,  a  seaman  who  was  perched  in  the 
top. 

"  What  are  you  about  ?  "  asked  Weston, 
angrily. 

"  Greasing  the  sling  of  the  fore-yard,  sir." 


130  DICK  RODNEY. 

"  Oh  —  I  thought  you  were  making  hay,  you 
are  so  slow  about  it.  You  have  been  staring 
ahead  for  the  last  twenty  minutes  at  least." 

"  Because  I  think  I  see  something,"  said  the 
seaman,  annoyed  by  the  nautical  taunt. 

Something,"  reiterated  Weston,  "  what  is  it  ? 
a  church,  or  a  windmill  going  before  the  wind?" 

"  Neither,  sir,  —  but  a  boat  adrift." 

"  How  does  it  bear,  Ned  ? "  asked  Hislop, 
starting  into  the  rigging. 

"  On  the  starboard  bow,  about  two  miles  off." 

On  hearing  this  the  telescope  was  resorted  to, 
and  we  could  plainly  enough  see  a  white  object, 
which  the  intervening  waves,  as  they  rose  and 
fell,  hid  from  us  at  times  ;  and  there  was  a  great 
diversity  of  opinion,  for  one  of  the  crew  main- 
tained it  was  a  harbor  bouy  adrift. 

"  It  must  have  drifted  a  long  way  to  have 
come  here,"  retorted  Carlton  ;  "  and  if  you  have 
your  grandmother's  spectacles  about  yovi,  wipe 
them  clean,  put  them  on,  and  look  again,  —  for 
^  can  see  plainly  enough  that  it  is  a  boat." 

"  Then  we  shall  overhaul  it,"  said  Weston  ; 
"  Hislop,  prepare  to  lower  ours,  and  to  lay  the 
fore-yard  aback." 

The  Eugenie's  course  was  shaped  toward  it, 
and  when  within  a  quarter  of  a  mile,  the  foresail 
was  laid  to  the  mast,  the  brig  hove  in  the  wind, 
and  the  stern  boat  lowered  ;  Hislop,  Tom  Lam- 
bourne,  two  other  hands,  and  I,  manned  her,  and 


AN  INCIDENT.  131 

put  off  to  inspect  and  report  upon  what  we  could 
discover.  And  so,  with  many  surmises  as  to 
wrecks,  boats  getting  adrift  or  being  washed 
away  from  their  davits,  and  so  forth,  we  pulled 
swiftly  toward  her,  ail  stripped  to  our  shirt- 
sleeves, for  a  hot  West  Indian  sun  was  blazing 
in  a  cloudless  sky,  and  the  air  seemed  still  and 
breathless. 


132  DICE  RODNEY. 


CHAPTER  XVII. 

ANTONIO    EL    CUBANO. 

As  the  strange  boat  pitched  about  on  the 
waves  some  of  our  men  asserted  that,  at  times, 
they  could  see  a  man's  head  above  the  gunwale. 
Others  expressed  then-  doubts  of  this,  and  in  the 
midst  of  such  discussions  we  sheered  alongside. 
Hislop  caught  its  bow  by  the  boat-hook,  and 
while  retaining  his  hold,  fended  off,  to  prevent 
her  being  dashed  against  ours. 

In  the  bottom  of  this  boat,  which  was  evident- 
ly the  clinker-built  skiif  of  a  merchant  vessel,  and 
was  all  painted  yellow,  as  a  preservation  from 
the  sun  in  a  warm  climate,  there  lay  under  the 
thwarts  a  man,  either  asleep,  in  a  stupor,  or 
dead,  —  at  first  we  knew  not  which  ;  but  he  was 
pale  enough  to  have  passed  for  the  last. 

By  his  tawny  visage  and  coal-black  beard,  his 
long  scarlet  cap  and  sash,  in  which  a  sheathed 
knife  was  stuck,  and  also  by  the  rings  in  his 
ears,  we  recognized  him  to  be  a  Spanish  seaman. 
He  was  a  man  naturally  of  a  tall  and  powerful 
frame,  but  of  forbidding  aspect,  —  of  great  per- 
sonal strength,  but  wasted  apparently  by  toil,  by 
exposure  and  famine. 


ANTONIO   EL   CUBANO.  133 

A  dark  and  coagulated  crust  of  something  like 
blood  appeared  on  his  baked  lips  and  thick 
moustaches,  on  the  blackness  of  which,  the  sa- 
line particles  of  the  sea  foam,  diied  by  the  tropi- 
cal sun,  glittered  white  as  hoar  frost  on  a  bush  in 
winter. 

As  we  roused  him,  he  grasped  his  knife  in- 
stinctively and  repulsively,  but  relinquished  it, 
and  then  stared  wildly  at  us,  muttering  in  implor- 
ing tones, 

"  Aqua,  aqua,  por  amor  de  Dios !  "  —  (water, 
for  the  love  of  God).  "  Misericordia !  O  senores, 
—  O  Ave  Maria,  misericordia !  " 

"  Here,  Jack  Spaniard,  ship  a  drop  o'  this  ;  it 
is  the  real  Jamaiky,"  said  Tattooed  Tom,  pouring 
between  the  parched  lips  of  the  Spaniard  some 
rum  from  a  bottle,  which  most  likely  had  been 
put  in  the  boat  by  the  foresight  of  Hislop. 

The  black  eyes  of  the  castaway  dilated  and 
flashed  as  the  spirit  revived  him,  restoring  his 
wasted  energies,  and  bringing  a  hectic  color  to 
his  cheek. 

"  Belay  now,"  said  Tom  ;  "  you  must  get  some 
Thames  water  from  the  brig  before  you  take 
more  of  this." 

"  Muchos  gracias  —  many,  many  thanks," 
said  the  Spaniard,  in  tones  of  thankfulness. 

"  Enough  o'  that ;  —  stow  your  slack,  and  come 
on  board  if  you  can,"  said  Tom,  testily,  as  he  had 

12 


134  DICK   RODNEY. 

sulky  recollections  of  our  adventures  at  the  Grand 
Canary. 

Restored  by  the  mouthful  of  alcohol,  the  Span- 
iard staggered  up,  but  with  difficulty  ;  and  then 
we  perceived  that  gouts  of  blood,  dried  and  en* 
crusted  by  the  sun,  were  on  his  person,  and  on 
the  inside  of  the  boat,  especially  on  one  of  the 
thwarts. 

"  What  is  this  —  blood  ?"  asked  Hislop,  with 
an  imperceptible  shudder. 

The  Spaniard  started,  and  became,  if  possible, 
paler  at  the  question,  as  he  nervously  clutched 
the  gunwale  of  his  boat  with  both  hands,  and 
said,  in  broken  accents,  — 

"  My  dog,  senores  ;  I  killed  a  dog  that  was 
with  me,  because  —  because  it  went  mad  in  the 
hot  sunshine,  and  being  without  water." 

"  Why  did  you  not  throw  it  into  the  sea  ?  " 

"  It  would  have  bitten  me,  senor,  and  might 
perhaps  have  come  into  the  boat  again." 

"  Likely  enough,"  muttered  one  of  our  men. 

"  You  could  have  knocked  it  over  with  an 
oar,"  said  Hislop ;  "  but  did  your  dog  wear  this  !  " 
he  added,  fishing  up  with  the  boat-hook  a  cap 
that  lay  in  the  bilge  water  under  the  stern  sheets 
of  the  skiff. 

"  That  cap  is  mine,"  said  the  Spaniard,  in  a 
husky  voice,  while  closing  his  eyes,  as  if  wearied 
or  appalled. 

"  Have  you  two  heads  ?  "  asked  Hislop,  sternly 

"  No,  senor ;  but  —  but  —  " 


ANTONIO   EL   CUBANO.  135 

«  What  then  ?  " 

"  A  man  may  have  two  caps  for  all  that." 

Perceiving  that  he  was  on  the  point  of  sinking 
again,  Tom  Lambourne  poured  some  more  of 
the  rum  into  his  mouth,  and  we  dragged  him  into 
our  boat,  setting  the  skiff,  which  was  quite  useless 
to  us,  adrift  once  more. 

"  What  was  your  ship  ?  "  asked  Hislop,  who 
spoke  Spanish  fluently. 

"  The  Marshal  Serrano  —  a  Spanish  brig  from 
Cadiz." 

"  From  the  Canaries  last  ?  "  I  inquired  hastily. 

"  Yes ;  bound  to  Costa  Rica." 

Tom  Lambourne  gave  me  a  rapid  glance,  as 
he  spat  on  his  hands  and  pushed  his  oar  through 
the  rowlock. 

"  She  foundered  and  went  down  with  all  hands 
on  board,"  continued  the  famished  Spaniard,  in 
a  broken  voice  and  with  quivering  lips. 

"  All  ?  "  reiterated  Hislop,  sternly  and  dubi- 
ously. 

"  All,  save  myself,  senor,"  replied  the  other, 
hesitatingly,  and  lowering  his  hollow  eyes ;  "  I 
escaped  in  the  skiff." 

«  With  your  dog  ?  " 

«  Si,  Senor." 

"  In  what  latitude  did  this  take  place  ?  " 

Without  a  moment's  hesitation,  the  Spaniard 
gave  us  the  latitude  and  longitude. 

"  I  can't  make  out  this  fellow's  story  in  any 


136  DICK   RODNEY. 

way,"  said  Hislop,  in  English.  "  By  the  theory 
and  law  of  storms,  we  should  have  had  a  touch 
of  the  same  gale  which  foundered  his  brig  —  if 
such  a  gale  existed.  He  has  deserted,  or  been 
marooned.  I  don't  believe  a  word  he  says. 
What  is  your  name  ?  "  he  asked  in  Spanish. 

"  Antonio.'' 

I  started  on  hearing  it,  for  my  suspicions  were 
becoming  more  and  more  confirmed. 

"  Antonio.     What  more  ?  " 

"  El  Cubano,  or  the  Cuban  ;  for  so  my  ship- 
mates termed  me,  and  I  have  no  other  name." 

"  Quick,  my  lads,"  said  Hislop ;  "  lay  out  on 
your  oars." 

We  were  soon  alongside  the  Eugenie,  anii  had 
our  castaway  hoisted  on  board,  when,  for  a  time, 
an  end  was  put  to  our  queries,  but  not  to  our  sur- 
mises, by  his  becoming  insensible.  We  had 
questioned  him  already  perhaps  too  much,  con- 
sidering the  weakness  of  his  condition. 

He  adhered  to  his  original  story  in  every  par- 
ticular when  examined  by  Weston  and  Hislop  a 
day  or  two  after  ;  that  he  belonged  to  the  Span 
ish  merchant  brig.  Marshal  Serrano,  the  same 
craft  which  had  worked  with  us  out  of  the  road 
stead  of  Santa  Cruz ;  that  she  had  foundered  in 
a  storm,  being  overmasted  and  overladen,  and 
that  he  alone  had  escaped  of  all  the  crew  ;  that 
when  his  dog  became  mad,  he  had  slain  the  ani- 
mal and  cast  the  carcase  into  the  sea ;  and  that 


ANTONIO   EL   CUBANO.  137 

he  had  been  a  week  floating  about  in  an  open 
boat,  without  food  and  without  aught  to  cool  hia 
parched  tongue,  save  the  heavy  tropical  dew  of 
heaven,  when  we  found  him ;  and  to  the  truth  of 
all  this,  he  was  ready  to  swear  over  two  crossed 
knives,  in  the  fashion  of  his  country. 

In  short,  we  were  obliged  to  content  ourselves 
with  his  narrative,  which  Hislop  duly  engrossed 
in  the  ship's  log,  while  expressing  great  disbelief 
as  to  its  authenticity. 

In  the  first  place,  our  mate  denied  that  any 
such  storm  as  that  in  which  the  Cuban  alleged 
his  brig  perished  had  ever  existed ;  and  he 
deduced  from  his  favorite  theory  that  we  were, 
and  had  been,  in  the  direct  track  of  such  a  storm, 
and  must  have  felt  its  influence  long  ere  this. 

Hence  he  thought  it  more  probable  that  the 
man  had  deserted  in  the  night,  perhaps  in  conse- 
quence of  committing  some  crime,  or  for  the 
same  reason  had  been  marooned  and  set  adrift. 

The  crew  were  divided  in  opinion,  and  Tom 
Lambourne  openly  expressed  his  disbelief  that 
the  blood  which  covered  the  clothes  of  the  Cuban 
and  the  thwart  of  the  boat  ever  came  from  the 
veins  of  a  dog ;  and  others  asserted  that  he  must 
have  quarrelled  with  an  unfortunate  shipmate, 
and  killed  him  ;  or  had  perhaps  assassinated  him 
in  sleep  for  the  horrible  purpose  of  prolonging 
his  own  existence. 

Amid  therie   unpleasant   surmises   as   to    hia 

12* 


138  DICK  RODNEY. 

character  and  position,  in  a  few  days  the  Span- 
iard joined  the  crew  in  working  the  ship,  and 
prove!  himself  to  be  a  steady,  industrious,  and 
able  seaman ;  and  as  three  of  our  hands  were 
on  the  sick  list,  his  services  were  the  more  val- 
uable. 

On  remarking  this  to  Tom  Lambourne, 
"  It  is  all  very  true,  sir,"  he  replied ;  "  but  I 
don't  like  a  seaman  w^ho  cannot  look  his  ship- 
mate right  in  the  face." 

"  You  are  a  physiognomist,"  I  suggested. 
"  Don't  know  what  kind  of  a  mist  that  may  be, 
Master  Rodney ;  but  this  I  know  —  there  is 
always  something  cunning  and  dangerous  in  a 
fellow  who  looks  over  your  shoulder,  as  that 
Spaniard  does,  when  he  should  look  at  your 
eyes." 

Antonio  had  an  excessive  dislike  for  deck 
duty  by  night.  He  exhibited  a  strange  dread  of 
being  left  alone,  and  could  scarcely  be  prevailed 
upon  to  look  over  the  vessel's  side,  always 
shrinking  back,  as  if  he  expected  to  see  some- 
thing hideous  rise  out  of  the  sea.  Weston  sug- 
gested that  perhaps  his  recent  suffering  had 
unmanned  and  rendered  him  nervous ;  but  the 
crew  thought  otherwise. 

In  his  sleep,  Antonio  frequently  disturbed  the 
men  in  the  forecastle  bunks  by  his  mutterings, 
'his  wild  dreams,  outcries,  and  sonorous  Spanish 
maledictions. 


ANTONIO   EL   CUBANO.  139 

I  was  at  the  wheel  on  a  calm  and  lovely  night 
(it  was  the  13th  of  January),  when  we  were  off 
the  beautiful  shore  of  Hispaniola.  I  remember 
well  that  Cape  Samanna  bore  west  by  south,  and 
Cape  Cabron  west  by  north ;  for  my  task  of 
steering  was  new  to  me,  and  Weston's  orders 
were  "  to  keep  her  full  and  by,"  —  that  is,  as 
close  to  the  wind  as  possible  without  making  the 
canvas  shiver. 

I  could  see  the  lights  that  glittered  in  the  dis- 
tant villages  that  studded  the  low  but  fertile 
peninsula  of  Samanna.  All  was  still  and  quiet 
in  the  ship  and  around  it.  Soothed  by  the 
solemnity  of  the  hour  and  the  vast  solitude  of 
the  sea,  my  heart  was  full,  and  busy  memory 
brought  before  me  loved  faces  and  voices,  places 
and  scenes,  that  were  far,  far  away  in  dear  Old 
England. 

The  brig  was  gliding  through  the  water  rap- 
idly but  imperceptibly,  and  almost  without  a 
sound ;  the  men  of  the  watch  were  leaning  over 
the  bulwark  to  leeward;  and  the  air,  the  sea, 
and  all  aloft  and  below,  seemed  to  sleep  in  the 
moonlight;  not  a  reef  point  pattered  on  the  taut 
canvas,  and  scarcely  a  wavelet  rippled,  save  in 
the  dead-water  astern  that  marked  the  white 
wake  of  the  Eugenie. 

Suddenly  a  shrill  and  piercing  cry  rang  out 
upon  the  night,  and  Antonio  the  Cubano  rushed 
from   the  forecastle  with  the  wildest   terror  ex* 


140  DICK  RODNEY. 

pressed  in  his  black  eyes ;  his  visage  was  pale 
and  ghastly,  and  the  persjnration  glittered  like 
bead  drops  on  his  clammy  brow.  With  his  bare 
feet,  he  stumbled  over  the  chain  cable,  which  lay 
coiled  on  the  deck,  for  on  that  afternoon  we  had 
hauled  it  up,  and  bent  it  to  the  working  anchor. 

He  came  running  aft  in  his  shirt,  brandishing 
a  knife  in  his  hand,  and  exclaiming,  in  fierce  and 
then  imploring  accents  — 

"  Who  says   I   did  it  ?  —  who   dares   to   say 


so 


?" 


Then  letting  his  arms  drop  as  he  slunk  back 
to  his  bunk,  we  heard  him  groan  out  — 

'■'■El  cuchillo  —  el  cuchillo  I  "  (the  knife  —  the 
knife). 

Hence,  under  such  circumstances,  it  may 
easily  be  supposed  that  among  the  crew  there 
floated  strange  and  dark  surmises  as  to  the  past 
life  of  Antonio  el  Cubano. 


TUE   WATER-SPOUT,  141 


CHAPTER    XVIII. 


THE    WATER-SPOUT. 


As  the  sun  increased  in  heat,  notwithstanding 
the  season  of  the  year,  I  was  soon  sensible  of  the 
comfort  of  white  clothing,  when  contrasted  with 
dark  woollen  or  broadcloth,  as  the  latter  absorbs, 
and  the  former  repels  the  rays  of  the  sun. 

Marc  Hislop  illustrated  this  to  me  by  igniting 
paper  with  a  burning-glass  ;  whenever  the  focus 
was  brought  to  bear  upon  dark  places,  such  as 
the  printed  letters,  they  were  instantly  consumed. 

We  ran  along  the  coast  of  Hispaniola,  and 
saw  the  wavy  ridges  of  its  mountains  that  tower 
into  the  clouds;  we  sighted  Tortuga,  a  rocky 
island  covered  with  palm-trees  and  sandal-wood, 
but  surrounded  by  reefs  and  shoals  ;  and  round- 
ing Cape  St.  Nicholas,  stood  to  the  southward 
between  the  great  islands  of  Jamaica  and  Cuba, 
but  without  seeing  either  of  them  at  that  time. 

For  three  days  we  had  dark  and  cloudy 
weather. 

About  three  p.  M.  on  the  24th  of  January,  a 
small  speck,  which  appeared  to  the  westward  on 
our  weather   beam,  grew  rapidly  into  a  gloomy 


142  DICK   RODNEY. 

cloud,  and  swiftly,  as  if  on  the  wings  of  a  destroy- 
ing angel,  it  traversed  the  thickening  air  and  the 
agitated  sea,  which  darkened  beneath  its  shadow  ; 
and  so  this  speck  came  on,  until  it  grew  an  aw- 
ful thunder-cloud. 

"  Bear  a  hand  fore  and  aft !  Hurrah,  my  lads  I 
—  make  all  snug  before  the  tempest  breaks!" 
were  the  cheering  orders  of  Weston,  Hi  slop,  and 
Lambourne,  as  the  brig  was  prepared  to  encoun- 
ter a  heavy  squall. 

The  rain  soon  fell  in  torrents,  impeding  the 
men  at  their  work  of  close  reefing,  furling,  and 
stowing  some  of  the  heavier  canvas,  and  in 
tightly  belaying  the  running  rigging;  for  when 
loose  ropes  are  flying  about  in  a  tempest,  and 
cracking  in  men's  faces  like  coach-whips,  they 
become  sufficiently  bewildering  to  impede  the 
working  of  the  ship. 

Under  the  lower  edge  of  the  approaching  cloud, 
when  about  twelve  miles  distant,  we  beheld  an 
object  which  filled  us  wilh  wonder  and  awe. 

It  was  a  tremendous  spout,  or  column  of  wa- 
ter, connected  with  the  cloud  above,  and  the  sea 
below  (the  sea,  from  which  a  circular  wind  had 
sucked  it  upward),  that  was  now  visible. 

This  column  was  like  a  solid  mass  of  white 
breakers,  approaching  with  incredible  speed  over 
waves  that  began  to  rise  in  short  and  pyramidal 
peaks. 

Hislop  was  too  busy  clewing  up  canvas,  send- 


THE    WATER-SPOUT.  143 

ing  yards  down  from  aloft,  belaying  and  order- 
ing, and  so  lost  a  famous  opportunity  for  expa- 
tiating—  as  no  doubt  he  would  have  done  —  on 
the  theory  of  these  spouts  ;  for  this  phenomenon 
filled  us  with  the  greatest  alarm,  lest  it  might 
swoop  down  upon  the  Eugenie^  dismast  and  de- 
stroy her  like  a  child's  toy-ship. 

Antonio  el  Cubano,  being  the  most  powerful 
and  muscular  man  on  board,  was  ordered  to  the 
wheel. 

Across  the  sea  this  column  seemed  to  pass  with 
the  cloud,  boiling,  foaming,  and  with  the  sound 
of  a  mighty  cascade  pouring  into  a  deep  valley, 
but  yet  maintaining  a  position  quite  perpendicu- 
lar. Around  its  base  the  waves  seemed  in  dread- 
ful commotion,  rising  and  falling,  seething  and 
glittering  in  the  lightning  which  shot  at  times 
from  the  gloomy  bosom  of  the  cloud  that  floated 
over  them. 

As  this  terrible  phenomenon  approached  from 
the  westward.  Captain  Weston  conceived  that 
we  might  escape  its  influence  by  altering  the 
brig's  course,  and  so  passing  it.  I  have  heard  ol 
water-spouts  being  dissipated  by  the  effect  of 
heavily-shotted  guns ;  but  we  had  no  such  appli- 
ances —  at  least  we  had  no  shot  on  board. 

The  breeze  which  was  blowing  fresh,  and  had 
not  as  yet  become  a  gale  (to  us  at  least),  veered 
north-westerly ;  so  we  shook  the  reefs  out  of  our 
topsails  and  trimmed  sharp  by  the  wind. 


144  DICK   RODNEY. 

"  LufF,  lufF — keep  your  luff — keep  her  to," 
were  the  incessant  orders  of  Weston ;  and  the 
Eugenie  flew  through  the  water  like  a  race-horse ; 
held  by  the  powerful  hands  of  Antonio,  she  never 
yawed  an  inch  ;  and  by  especial  Providence  she 
got  to  ivindward  of  that  dreadful  phenomenon, 
which  passed  us,  cloud  and  all,  about  six  miles 
astern,  when  as  it  changed  color,  from  grayish 
green  to  white,  it  presented  a  scene  so  sublime 
and  terrible,  that "  the  boldest  held  his  breath  for 
a  time ;"  and  Antonio,  who  was  blanched  white 
with  terror,  though  he  had  frequently  seen  such 
spouts  in  these,  his  native  seas,  assured  me,  wi;h 
chattering  teeth,  that  he  had  never  beheld  one  of 
such  magnitude ;  and  it  was  long  before  he  could 
be  certain  of  our  safety,  and  ceased  to  mutter, — 

"  O  mala  ventura  —  mala  ventura !  "  (hterally, 
bad  luck.) 

From  white,  the  water-spout  became  dusky 
purple,  when  a  gleam  of  the  setting  sun  fell  on 
it,  and  the  waves  at  its  base  glittered  in  all  the 
colors  of  the  rainbow. 

"  Thank  heaven !  that  is  past,"  said  Weston. 

"  Ay,  sir,"  said  old  Roberts,  the  man-o'-war's 
man,  "  it  is  enough  to  make  one's  hair  stand  on 
end  for  a  week." 

"  Had  we  been  twenty  minutes'  sail  astern,  we 
could  not  have  escaped  it ! "  said  Hislop  ;  "  but 
we  have  handled  the  brig  beautifully.  That 
ugly  Spaniard  at  the  wheel  was  worth  his  weight 
in  gold  just  now  I  " 


THE   WATER-SPOUT.  145 

For  nearly  an  hour  the  sea  was  greatly  agita- 
ted ;  but  as  the  Eugenie^  still  braced  sharp  to  the 
wind,  flew  from  one  long  roller  to  another,  we 
rapidly  got  into  smooth  water.  The  barometer 
rose  quickly  ;  the  vapors  dispersed ;  and  when 
the  setting  sun  gave  us  a  parting  smile  from  the 
far  horizon,  the  storm-cloud  and  its  water-spout 
had  disappeared  together,  or  melted  away  in  the 
distant  sea. 

The  little  eddies  of  wind,  which  on  a  fine  sum- 
mer morning  may  be  seen  whirling  up  the  dust 
and  dry  leaves  in  circles  on  a  road,  are  exactly 
on  the  same  principle  as  those  mighty  phenom- 
ena which  become  tornadoes,  cyclones,  and 
water-spouts,  when  they  reach  the  ocean,  where 
they  may  easily  dismast  and  perhaps  sink  the 
largest  line-of-battle  ship. 

Those  spouts  rise  from  the  sea  exactly  like  the 
moving  pillars  of  sand,  which  the  whirlwinds 
sweep  from  the  hot  and  arid  deserts  of  Africa 
and  Arabia. 

About  six  beUs  {i.  e.,  seven  p.  M.),  this  escape 
was  followed  by  a  dead  calm,  which  lasted  till 
midnight,  and  during  that  time  .we  talked  of 
nothing  but  the  skill  with  which  we  had  got  the 
weathergage  of  that  column  of  foam.  As  the 
sun  set,  with  a  rapidity  peculiar  to  these  lati- 
tudes, the  brilliant  tints  he  shed  on  sea  and  sky 
changed  with  equal  speed  from  gold  to  saffron, 


146  DICK   RODNEY. 

from  these  to  vivid  purple,  and  from  thence  to 
the  hue  of  sapphire. 

The  sensation  of  loneliness  which  the  depart- 
ure of  the  sun  excites  in  the  breast  of  a  lands- 
man at  sea  is  pecuLar  ;  but  this  was  soon  chased 
from  mine  by  the  splendor  of  the  rising  moon, 
which  changed  the  sapphire  tints  of  sea  and  sky 
to  liquid  silver  and  the  clearest  blue. 

Above,  no  cloud,  nor  even  the  tiniest  shred  of 
vapor  was  visible.  Sea  blended  with  sky  at  the 
horizon,  and  seemed  to  melt  into  each  other,  so 
that  no  line  was  traceable.  Save  a  planet  or 
two,  twinkling  with  less  light  than  usual,  there 
seemed  to  be  no  stars  in  heaven,  for  the  glory  of 
the  fuU-orbed  moon  eclipsed  them  all ;  her  light 
feU  brightly  on  the  white  sails  of  the  Eugenie, 
and  in  it  the  features  of  our  faces  were  distinct 
as  at  noon-day,  and  now  it  was  the  noon  of  night. 

About  twelve  o'clock  a  fresh  breeze  sprung  up, 
and  the  ship's  course  was  resumed. 

"  By  keeping  the  weathergage,  and  beyond  the 
circle  of  the  spout's  attraction,  we  escaped  with- 
out shipping  a  drop  of  water  !  "  said  Weston,  for 
the  twentieth  time.  "  Let  me  see  how  you  entei 
all  this  in  the  log,  Hislop." 

"  It  is  no  uncommon  thing  for  a  craft  at  sea  to 
be  deluged  by  a  spout  of  fresh  water,  which  the 
whirlwind  has  torn  up  irom  an  inland  lake,"  said 
Hislop  ;  "  and  houses,  far  in-shore,  have  in  the 
same   fashion  been  deluged   by  salt  water  ab- 


THE  WATER-SPOUT.  147 

sorbed  from  the  sea ;  —  and  hence  the  showers 
of  dried  herrings,  of  which  v/e  have  heard  so 
much  at  times.  Now,  Rodney,  you  will  perhaps 
be  surprised  when  I  tell  you,  that  it  is  the  winds 
which  produce  a  calm  lii^e  that  we  have  had  to- 
night." 

"  The  winds!"  I  reiterated,  surprised  at  such 
a  paradox  from  our  theorist. 

"  Yes.  The  opposition  of  winds  wiU  at  times 
produce  a  perfect  calm,  and  then  when  rain  falls 
it  is  always  gentle  and  equable  ;  but  when 
clouds  seem  to  move  against  the  lower  winds, 
or  when  streams  of  aii-  denote  a  variety  of  the 
aerial  current,  and  consequently  the  approach  of 
rain " 

"  What  strange  sound  is  that  ahead,  or  at 
least,  forward  ?  "  said  Weston,  interrupting  His- 
lop,  who  would  perhaps  have  theorized  for  an 
hour. 

"  It  is  Antonio,  groaning  in  his  sleep  in  the 
forecastle,"  said  Ned  Carleton,  who  was  at  the 
wheeL 

"I  wish  the  ship  were  rid  of  him  and  his 
dreams,"  added  Hislop,  testily.  "  WeU,  as  I  was 
saying,  when  the  adverse  movements  of  the 
clouds  seem  to  denote " 

"  Light  a-head  !  "  cried  a  voice  from  the  bow. 

"  Is  that  you,  Roberts  ?  "  asked  Weston, 
while  Hislop  stamped  with  vexation  at  the  sec- 
ond interruption. 


148  DICK   RODNEY. 

«  Yes,  sir." 

"  How  does  it  bear  ?  " 

"  East-north-east." 

"  Then  it  is  Cape  St.  Antonio  Light,  the  most 
western  point  of  Cuba,"  said  Weston,  with  con- 
fidence and  pleasure  in  his  tone.  "  I  thought  I 
could  smell  the  land  with  the  first  cat's  paw,  be- 
fore the  breeze  freshened." 

The  light,  dim  and  distant  like  a  star,  was  now 
seen  to  twinkle  among  the  waves  at  the  horizon. 

For  more  than  an  hour  I  remained  on  deck 
with  my  eyes  fixed  upon  that  feeble  but  increas- 
ing beacon,  which  indicated  a  foreign  shore ; 
then  I  went  below  and  turned  in,  with  a  sigh  of 
pleasure  that  the  voyage  was  nearly  over,  and  a 
hope  that  when  I  traversed  those  weaves  again,  I 
should  be  on  my  return  home  —  home  to  my 
father  and  mother,  to  Sybil  and  Dot,  —  to  the 
old  Rectory,  with  its  shady  oak-grove,  its  green 
lawn,  and  the  masses  of  ivy,  woodbine,  and 
honeysuckle  that  shaded  its  time-worn  walls 


CUBA.  149 


CHAPTER    XIX. 


CUBA. 


When  day  dawned  we  had  rounded  Caybo 
San  Antonio,  and  were  running  along  the  north- 
ern shore  of  Cuba. 

I  was  up  early,  by  eight  bells  —  or  a  little  after 
four  A.  M.  —  for  I  had  the  morning  watch  ;  and 
with  deep  interest  I  surveyed  the  coast  of  that 
beautiful  island,  which  lay  about  ten  miles  dis- 
tant, —  the  first  and  now  the  last  portion  of  that 
vast  empire  beyond  the  seas  which  Columbus 
bequeathed  to  Castile  and  Leon. 

"  Dat  is  mi  country,  senor,"  said  Antonio,  who 
was  at  the  wheel ;  and  this  remark,  with  the  re- 
pulsive aspect  of  the  Spaniard  and  his  mysterious 
character,  served  to  dissipate  my  momentary  en- 
thusiasm. 

"  That  is  Caybo  Bueno  Vista,  —  and  the 
breakers  on  the  weather-bow,"  he  continued, 
"mark  the  CoUorados,  a  long  reef  of  rocks. 
The  blue  sharks  are  as  thick  there  as  the  stars 
in  the  sky." 

We  were  now  in  the  Gulf  of  Florida. 
The  sky  was  cloudless  and  blue ;  and  now  it 
13* 


150  DICK   RODNEY. 

seemed  as  if  the  welkin  above  and  the  almost 
waveless  sea  below  were  endeavoring  to  outvie 
each  other  in  calmness,  in  beauty,  and  in  the 
glory  of  their  azure  depths.  The  wind  was  off 
the  land  and  rather  a-head  ;  but  the  sails  were 
trimmed  to  perfection,  and  we  ran  through  the 
Gulf  on  a  taut  bowline. 

I  have  so  much  more  to  narrate  than  my  lim- 
ited space  permits  me  to  give  in  full  detail,  that 
I  must  compress  into  one  chapter  all  that  relates 
to  my  visit  to  Matanzas. 

Our  run  through  the  Gulf  was  delightful ;  and 
on  the  29th  of  January,  just  as  a  rosy  tint  was 
stealing  over  all  the  sea  and  the  rocky  shore  of 
Cuba,  after  the  sun  had  set  beyond  the  waters 
of  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  we  saw  Havana  light, 
bearing  south  by  west,  and  distant  about  four- 
teen miles.  So  we  passed  in  the  night  the 
wealthy  capital  of  Cuba,  so  famed  in  the  annals 
of  our  victories  —  La  Habana,  or  the  harbor  — 
of  which,  from  our  being  so  far  to  seaward,  we 
could  see  nothing  but  the  great  revolving  light, 
which  burns  so  brightly  on  the  high  rock  of  the 
Morro,  or  Castello  de  los  Santos  Reyes ;  and 
before  dawn  we  descried  the  light  of  Santa  Cruz 
on  our  weather-bow. 

Weston  drew  my  attention  to  it,  adding  "  that 
is  the  beacon  which  so  scared  me  when  it  shone 
through  the  stern  windows  of  the  empty  polacca 
brig." 


CUBA.  151 

Next  day,  the  29th,  after  encountering  a  head 
wind,  against  which  we  tacked  frequently  be- 
tween the  Pan  de  Matanzas  and  the  wooded 
point  of  Sumberella,  at  ten  in  the  morning,  a 
Spanish  mulatto  pilot  came  on  board  and  took 
the  brig  in  charge. 

We  ran  safely  into  the  harbor,  and  by  eleven 
o'clock  came  to  anchor  at  a  place  recommended 
by  Antonio,  half  a  cable's  length  from  the  castle 
of  St.  Severino.  In  half  an  hour  after,  the  sails 
were  ail  unbent  and  stowed  below,  and  prepara- 
tions were  made  for  "breaJdng  bulk,"  —  to  un- 
load the  vessel,  whose  cargo,  I  have  stated, 
consisted  of  steam  machinery  and  coals  for  the 
sugar  and  coffee  mills. 

Gangs  of  Spanish  mulattoes,  negro  porters, 
and  lumpers,  in  red  shirts  and  white  drawers, 
with  broad  straw  hats,  and  nearly  all  with  rings 
in  their  ears,  came  on  board  in  quest  of  employ- 
ment; and  then  all  was  confusion,  garlic,  dirt, 
jabbering  in  Spanish  and  Congo,  singing,  swear- 
ing, and  smoking  cigaritos. 

I  was  now  at  liberty  to  go  ashore,  and  after 
the  first  bustle  was  over,  Weston  left  Hislop  in 
charge  of  the  brig  and  accompanied  me.  Ma- 
tanzas presented  nothing  new  to  him,  but  I  sur- 
veyed with  interest,  not  unmixed  with  wonder, 
the  New  World  in  which  I  found  myself. 

The  city  of  Don  Carlos  de  Matanzas  occupies 
a  gentle  eminence  between  the  rivers  San  Juan 


152  DICK   RODNEY. 

and  Yumuri,  which  roll  into  the  bay  from  the 
mountainous  ridge  that  traverses  all  Cuba.  Its 
name,  Matanzas,  signifies  the  place  of  murder, 
because  in  that  bay  some  of  the  Spaniards  of 
Columbus  were  slain  by  the  native  Indians. 

Most  of  the  houses  are  built  of  good  stone, 
but  have  all  their  windows  iron-ban-ed  without 
and  barricaded  within,  for  the  population  (of 
which  our  shipmate  Antonio  was  a  striking 
specimen)  consists  of  about  thirty  thousand 
oHve-skinned  Spaniards,  and  double  that  num- 
ber of  slaves  and  free  mulattoes,  all  loose,  reck- 
less, fiery,  and  apt  to  use  their  knives  on  trivial 
occasions. 

There  was  not  a  ship  lying  there  for  England, 
or  any  other  craft  by  which  Weston  could  have 
sent  me  home.  A  Spanish  steam-packet  was 
on  the  eve  of  departing  for  Cadiz ;  but  being 
wearied  by  the  monotony  of  my  long  voyage,  I 
was  scarcely  in  a  mood  for  the  sea  again,  and 
wished  to  spend  a  little  time  on  shore  instead  of 
leaving  with  her. 

However,  I  wrote  to  my  family  by  the  Span- 
ish mail,  acquainting  them  of  my  safety  —  with 
the  strange  accident  which  had  so  suddenly  torn 
me  from  them,  and  adding  that  I  would  return 
by  the  first  ship  bound  for  any  part  of  England ; 
if  possible,  with  the  Eug-enie,  which  would  prob- 
ably be  freighted  for  London. 

After  the  packet  sailed  with  my  letter  in  her 


CUBA.  153 

capacious  bags,  I  experienced  an  emotion  of 
greater  happiness  and  contentment  than  I  had 
ever  done  since  leaving  home;  for  the  sorrow 
which  I  knew  all  there  must  have  suffered, 
and  would  still  be  suffering,  hung  heavily  on 
my  heart. 

As  we  were  returning  to  the  brig,  which  had 
now  been  warped  alongside  the  mole,  when 
passing  through  the  street  which  contains  the 
great  hospital,  we  heard  the  sound  of  trumpeis, 
and  saw  the  glittering  of  lances  with  long 
streamers  above  the  heads  of  a  dense  crowd  of 
people  of  all  shades  of  color,  black,  yellow,  and 
brown;  and  we  had  to  doff  our  hats  with  due 
respect  as  they  passed,  for  in  the  midst,  sur- 
rounded by  a  staff  of  officers,  epauletted  and 
aiguletted,  their  breasts  sparkling  with  medals 
and  crosses,  and  each  of  them  riding  with  a 
cocked  hat  under  his  right  arm,  came  the  present 
Captain-General  of  Cuba,  a  marshal  of  the 
Spanish  army,  Don  Francisco  Serrano  de  Domin- 
guez,  attended  by  an  escort  of  mulatto  lancers, 
all  mounted  on  Spanish  horses. 

He  was  a  fine-looking  man,  and  though  aged, 
had  aU  the  bearing  of  what  he  waSj  or  I  should 
say  is  —  a  grandee  of  Old  Castile. 

On  returning  to  the  Eugenie  we  found  An- 
tonio, the  Cuban,  working  among  the  crew  as 
lustily  and  actively  as  any  man  on  board.  Wes- 
ton now  offered  him  remuneration  for  the  time  he 


154  DICK   RODNEY. 

had  been  with  us,  with  a  hint  that  he  might  find 
a  berth  elsewhere ;  but  our  castaway  evinced  the 
greatest  reluctance  to  leave  the  brig,  and  begged 
that  he  might  be  permitted  to  remain  on  board, 
as  three  of  our  best  hands  had  been  sent  ashore 
sick  to  the  hospital. 

So  short-sighted  is  man,  that  Captain  Wes- 
ton, despite  the  dislike  of  the  crew,  and  the 
advice  of  Marc  Hislop,  ordered  that  the  name  of 
Antonio  be  entered  on  the  ship's  books  as  a  fore- 
mast-man. 

Three  weeks  after  our  arrival,  the  brig  was  ca- 
reened to  starboard,  when  clear  of  all  the  cargo, 
and  had  her  copper  scraped  and  cleaned,  an  op- 
eration which  the  constant  rains  of  the  season 
greatly  retarded. 

There  was  much  in  Cuba  to  feed  an  imagina- 
tive mind,  and  mine  was  full  of  the  voyages,  the 
daring  adventures,  and  the  vast  discoveries  of 
Columbus,  with  the  exploits  of  the  buccaneers, 
whose  haunts  were  amid  these  wild,  and,  in  those 
days,  savage  shores. 

I  thought  of  the  gaily  plumed  and  barbar- 
ously armed  caciques  whom  Columbus  had  met 
in  their  Reet  piroguas,  or  had  encountered  in  the 
dense  forests  which  clothe  the  Cuban  mountains 

—  forests,  old,  perhaps,  as  the  days  of  the  deluge 

—  of  the  yellow-skinned  women  with  their  long, 
flowing  black  hair,  and  with  plates  of  polished 
gold  hanging  at  their  ears  and  noses,    of  the 


CUBA.  155 

fierce  warriors  sti-eaked  with  sable  war-paint,  and 
armed  with  cane  arrows  shod  with  teeth  or  poi- 
soned fish-bones,  that  fell  harmless  from  the 
Spanish  coats  of  mail ;  of  the  wild  Caribs  who 
devoured  their  prisoners  —  with  whom  a  battle 
was  but  a  precursor  of  a  feast ;  and  of  the 
famous  fighting  women  —  the  terrible  Amazons 
of  Guadaloupe. 

I  thought  of  the  story  of  Columbus  writing 
the  narrative  of  his  wonderful  discoveries,  his 
perils  and  adventures,  on  a  roll  of  parchment, 
which  he  wrapped  in  oil-cloth  covered  over  v/ith 
wax,  inclosed  in  a  little  cask,  and  then  cast  into 
the  sea,  with  a  prayer,  and  the  hope  that  if  he 
and  his  crew  perished,  this  record  of  their  achieve- 
ments might  be  cast  by  the  ocean  on  the  shore 
of  some  Christian  land. 

As  I  sat  by  the  sounding  sea  that  rolled  into 
the  bay  of  Matanzas,  what  would  I  not  have 
given  to  have  seen  the  waves  cast  that  old  cask, 
covered  with  weeds  and  barnacles,  at  my  feet ! 

But  now  the  plodding  steam-tug  and  the  rusty 
merchant  trader  ploughed  the  waters  of  the  bay, 
instead  of  the  gilded  Spanish  caravels,  or  the 
long  war-pirognas  of  the  Indian  warriors  ;  and 
where  they  fought  their  bloodiest  battles  on  the 
wooded  shore,  or  in  the  green  savanna,  where 
the  painted  cacique  and  the  mailed  Castilian  met 
hand  to  hand  in  mortal  strife,  the  smoive  of  the 
steam-mill,    grinding    coffee,    or   boiling    sugar, 


156  DICK   RODNEY. 

darkened  the  sky,  and  the  songs  of  the  negroes 
were  heard  as  they  hoed  in  the  plantations,  or  in 
gangs  of  forty  trucked  mahogany  logs,  each 
drawn  by  eight  sturdy  oxen,  to  the  sea. 

And  so,  in  a  creek  of  the  bay  —  the  same  place 
where  the  Dutch  Admiral  Heyn  sunk  the  Span- 
ish plate  fleet  —  I  was  wont  to  sit  dreamily  for 
hours,  with  the  murmur  of  the  waves  in  my  ears, 
with  the  buzz  of  insects,  and  the  voice  of  the 
mocking-birds  among  the  palmettoes,  while 
watching  the  sails  that  glided  past  the  headlands 
of  the  bay,  on  their  way  to  the  Bahama  Chan- 
nel, or  the  great  Gulf  of  Florida. 

This  was  my  favorite  resort.  A  wood  of  co- 
coa-nut and  other  trees  shaded  the  place,  and 
made  it  so  dark  that  I  have  seen  the  fire-flies 
glance  about  at  noon.  The  cocoas  are  about 
the  height  of  Dutch  poplars,  and  are  covered 
with  oblong  leaves,  which,  when  young,  are  of  a 
pale  red.  As  spring  drew  on,  the  branches  be- 
came covered  with  scarlet  and  yeUow  flowers. 

Over  these,  the  vast  coral-tree  spread  its  pro- 
tecting foliage,  whence  the  Spaniards,  in  their 
beautiful  language,  name  it  La  Madre  del  Co- 
coa, the  smallest  of  which  has  at  times  a  thou- 
Band  lovely  scarlet  blossoms. 


AN   EVIL   SPIRIT.  157 


CHAPTER    XX. 

AN   EVIL   SPIRIT. 

We  sailed  from  the  bay  of  Matanzas  at  t\^'o 
A.  M.,  on  the  3d  of  April,  bound  for  the  Cape  of 
Good  Hope,  which  we  were  fated  never  to 
reach. 

The  Eugenie  had  been  freighted  for  that  col- 
ony with  a  rich  cargo  of  molasses,  sugar,  coffee, 
and  tobacco ;  and  arrangements  had  been  made 
that  from  Cape  Town  she  would  be  chartered 
for  London  ;  thus  I  had  a  fair  prospect  of  see- 
ing nearly  a  half  of  this  terrestrial  globe  before  I 
repassed  my  good  old  father's  threshold  at 
Erlesmere. 

I  earnestly  hoped  that  we  might  encounter  no 
more  water-spouts  or  tornadoes,  as  they  were  not 
at  all  to  my  taste ;  but  from  other  causes  than 
phenomena  or  the  war  of  the  elements,  it  was 
my  fortune,  or  rather  misfortune,  to  undergo  such 
peril  and  suffering  as  were  far  beyond  my  con- 
ception or  anticipation. 

By  eight  o'clock  on  the  morning  of  our  de- 
parture, the  light  on  Piedras  Key  was  bearing 
south  by  east,  sinking  into  the  waves  astern,  and 

14 


158  DICK   RODNEY. 

going  out  as  we  bade  a  long  farewell  to  the 
lovely  shores  of  Cuba. 

Three  of  our  men  had  died  of  yellow  fever  in 
hospital,  so  we  sailed  from  Matanzas  with  ten 
able-bodied  hands,  exclusive  of  three  ship-boys, 
the  captain,  first  and  second  mates. 

In  these  waters,  after  the  rainy  season,  the  sky 
is  so  cloudless  in  the  forenoon  that  the  heat  of 
the  sun  becomes  almost  insupportable  ;  thus  we 
were  soon  glad  to  resort  to  the  use  of  windsails 
rigged  down  the  open  skylight  to  an  awning 
over  the  quarter-deck  for  coolness,  and  to  skids 
for  the  prevention  of  blisters  on  the  sides  of  the 
brig ;  but  in  the  starry  night  the  land-wind 
which  comes  off  these  fertile  isles,  laden  with  the 
rich  aroma  of  their  spice-growing  savannas,  is 
beyond  description  grateful  and  delicious. 

Without  any  incident  worth  recording  we  ran 
through  the  sea  of  the  Windward  Isles,  thence 
along  the  coast  of  South  America  ;  and  when 
we  approached  the  calm  latitudes,  as  that  tract 
of  ocean  near  the  Equator  is  named,  we  became 
sensible  of  the  overpowering  increase  of  heat, 
while  the  breezes  were  but  "  fanning  ones,"  as 
the  sailors  term  those  which,  under  the  double 
influence  of  the  air  and  motion  of  the  hull,  are 
just  sufficient  to  make  the  lighter  canvas  col- 
lapse and  swell  again. 

We  were  soon  aware  of  other  annoyances  than 
mere  heat ;  for  now  it  seemed  as  if  there  was  an 


AN   EVIL   SPIRIT.  159 

evil  spirit  on  board  the  Eugenie,  and  that  noth- 
ing went  right  within  or  about  her. 

The  crew  siilked  and  quarrelled  among  them- 
selves as  if  the  demon  of  mischief  lurked  in  the 
vessel,  and  daily  something  unfortunate  occurred. 
Halyards  or  braces  gave  way,  by  which  the 
yards  were  thrown  aback  ;  and  in  one  instance 
the  brig  nearly  lost  her  mainmast.  Standing  and 
running  rigging  were  found  to  be  mysteriously 
fretted,  and  even  cut,  as  if  by  a  knife ;  and  then 
the  crew  whispered  together  of  Antonio  el  Cu- 
bano,  —  that  horrid,  dark,  and  mysterious  fellow, 
whose  character  none  of  us  could  fathom. 

Twice  our  compasses  went  wrong,  and  re- 
mained so  for  days  ;  and  before  the  cause  was 
discovered,  the  Eugenie  had  drifted  far  from  her 
course. 

This  varying  was  inexplicable,  until  Hislop, 
who  set  himself  to  watch,  and  frequently  saw 
Antonio  hovering  near  the  binnacle  at  night,  un- 
shipped the  compass-box,  and  found  there  were 
concealed  near  it  an  iron  marlinspike  on  one 
side,  and  a  lump  of  tallow  on  the  other,  either 
of  which  was  sufficient  to  affect  the  magnetic 
needle. 

After  their  removal  the  compass  worked  as 
well  as  before.  The  crew  were  strictly  ques- 
tioned; all  vowed  total  ignorance  of  the  transac- 
tion, and  Antonio  summoned  every  saint  in  the 
Spanish  calendar  to  attest  his  innocence,  but 
none,  however,  appeared.     The  crew   now  felt 


160  DICK   RODNEY. 

convinced  that,  inspired  by  some  emotion  of 
malice  or  mischief,  he  alone  was  the  culprit ;  and 
if  not  loud,  their  wrath  was  deep  against  him. 

These  variations  of  our  compass  set  the  busy 
brain  of  Marc  Hislop  to  work  ;  and  in  a  day  or 
two  he  declared  that  he  had  discovered  a  plan 
for  preventing  the  repetition  of  tricks  so  danger- 
ous, by  insulating-  the  needle,  so  as  to  protect  the 
compass  from  attractions  false  or  dangerous. 

I  am  uncertain  whether  he  perfected  this  ex- 
periment, but  Antonio  soon  went  to  work  an- 
other way  ;  for  one  day,  when  he  was  supposed 
to  be  busy  in  the  maintop,  he  shouted,  "  Stand 
from  under!  "  and  ere  Hislop,  who  was  just  be- 
neath, could  give  the  usual  response,  "  Let  go," 
a  heavy  marlinspike,  the  same  which  had  been 
found  in  the  binnacle,  slipped  from  the  hand  of 
Antonio,  and  fell  through  the  topgrating. 

The  iron  bar  crashed  into  the  deck  at  the  feet 
of  Hislop  ;  whether  this  occurred  by  inadver- 
tence or  design  we  knew  not,  but  the  Scotsman 
thought  the  latter. 

"  That  rascally  Spanish  picaroon  will  work  us 
some  serious  mischief  before  we  overhaul  our 
gi'ound-tackle  or  see  the  Cape,"  said  Weston, 
who  was  enraged  by  this  new  incident,  and  the 
narrow  escape  of  Hislop,  for  whom  he  had  a 
great  regard. 

"Aye,  he  has  a  hang-dog  look  about  him  that 
I  never  liked,"  replied  the  latter.  "  He  seems  to 
be   always  down   by  the  head,  somehow.     We 


AN   EVIL   SPIKIT.  161 

should  have  left  him  in  his  skiff,  just  as  we  found 
him,  like  a  beai  adrift  on  a  grating,  or  a  pig  in  a 
washing-tub. 

On  another  occasion  he  injured  "Will  White, 
one  of  the  crew,  by  letting  the  topmaul  fall  from 
the  foretop,  where  it  usually  lay,  for  driving  home 
the  fid  of  the  mast. 

His  dreams  again  became  a  source  of  annoy- 
ance to  all  in  the  forecastle  bunks  ;  and  on  being 
closely  and  severely  questioned  by  Captain  Wes- 
ton and  the  men,  as  to  whether  he  had  ever 
killed  any  one,  by  accident  or  otherwise,  after 
being  long  badgered,  he  half  drew  his  ugly  knife 
from  its  shark-skin  sheath,  and  replied,  sullenly, — 

"  Only  a  Chinaman  or  so,  when  in  California." 

"  Well,  I  wish  you  would  clap  a  stopper  on 
your  mouth  when  you  go  to  sleep,  or  turn  in  out 
of  ear-shot  in  a  topgallant  studding  sail,  —  as 
far  off  as  you  choose,  and  the  further  off  the  bet- 
ter," said  old  Roberts,  sulkily,  after  the  ravings 
of  the  Cubano  had  kept  him  awake  for  several 
nights. 

"  You  seem  to  dream  a  great  deal,  Antonio," 
said  Weston,  with  a  keen  glance,  beneath  which 
the  Spaniard  quailed. 

"  Si,  Senor  Capitano,"  he  stammered. 

"How  is  this?" 

"  I  am  very  fond  of  dreams,"  he  replied,  with  a 
bitter  smile  on  his  lip  and  a  scowl  in  his  dark  eye, 

"  Have  you  pleasant  ones  ?  " 

14* 


162  DICK   RODNEY. 

"  I  cannot  say  that  they  are  always  so,  but  I 
should  like  to  procure  them." 

"  Shall  1  tell  you  how  to  do  so,  shipmate  ?  " 

"  If  you  please,  Senor,"  growled  the  Spaniard. 

"  Go  to  sleep,  if  you  can,  with  that  which  is 
better  than  the  formula  of  prayers,  which  at 
times  you  pay  out  like  the  line  running  off  a 
log-reel." 

"  And  what  is  it  you  mean,  mio  Capitano  ?  " 

"J.  good  conscience,'^  replied  Weston,  with  a 
peculiar  emphasis. 

A  black  scowl  came  over  the  Spaniard's 
swarthy  visage,  as  he  touched  the  rim  of  his  hat, 
darted  a  furious  glance  at  his  chief  accuser,  the 
white-haired  seaman  Roberts,  and  to  end  the 
examination,  walked  forward. 

Soon  after  this,  when  evening  came  on  we 
heard  a  noise  in  the  forecastle,  and  the  voice  of 
Hislop,  exclaiming  — 

"  Stand  clear  —  sheer  off,  Antonio  !  If  you 
come  athwart  me,  I'll  knock  you  down  with  a 
handspike !  What !  you  grip  your  knife,  do 
you?  Well,  just  do  it  again,  and  I'll  chuck  you 
overboard  like  a  bit  of  old  junk." 

"  What  is  the  matter  now  ?  "  said  I,  hastening 
forward. 

"  Oh,  this  rascally  Spanish  Creole  has  been 
swearing  at  the  men  again,  and  threatening  old 
■Roberts." 

"He  vows,  sir,  he  will  burn  the  ship,"  said 
Roberts,  who  seemed  considerably  excited. 


AN   EVIL   SPIRIT.  163 

•'  Burn  the  ship,"  reiterated  Weston.  "  I  have 
a  great  mind  to  put  him  in  the  bilboes  for  the 
remainder  of  the  voyage." 

"  'Twere  best  for  all  concerned,  sir,"  said  Tom 
Lambourne,  touching  his  forelock  with  his  right 
hand,  and  giving  the  deck  a  scrape  with  his  left 
foot ;  "  or  set  him  adrift  with  some  provisions  in 
the  jolly-boat." 

"  Come,  come,  Antonio,"  said  Weston,  with 
greater  severity  than  I  had  hitherto  seen  ex- 
pressed in  his  open  and  honest  countenance, 
"  you  must  haul  your  wind  —  for  some  time  you 
have  been  going  too  far.  I  can't  spare  my  jolly- 
boat,  and,  thank  heaven !  the  days  of  marooning 
are  past  among  Brilish  sailors,  but  beware  you, 
shipmate,  or  the  bilboes  it  shall  be,  and  we  have 
a  pretty  heavy  pair  below.  And  as  for  you. 
Marc  Hislop,"  he  added,  in  a  low  voice,  when 
we  walked  aft,  "  take  care  of  yourself,  for  these 
Spanish  Creoles  are  as  slippery  and  treacherous 
as  serpents." 

"  I'll  keep  my  weather  eye  open,"said  Hislop. 

"  You  will  require  to  do  so,  I  think." 

"  You  do  ?  "  exclaimed  the  Scotsman,  with 
growing  anger.  "  If  he  proceeds  thus,  I'll  break 
either  his  heart  or  his  neck." 

Next  morning,  Roberts  the  old  man-o'-war's 
man,  who  had  always  been  Antonio's  chief  ac- 
cuser concerning  his  dreams,  was  nowhere  to  be 
found  on  board ! 


164  DICK   RODNEY. 

AJl  the  hands  were  turned  up  ;  the  whole  brig 
was  searched,  the  forecastle  berths,  the  cable- 
tier,  and  every  place  below  from  the  fore  to  the 
after  peak,  but  there  was  no  trace  of  Roberts, 
save  his  old  tarpaulin-hat,  lying  crushed  and 
torn  in  the  lee  scuppers. 

He  was  last  seen  when  turned  up  to  take  the 
middle  watch,  which  extends  from  twelve  to  four 
o'clock  A.  M.,  and  Antonio  was  then  in  his  ham- 
mock. 

Roberts  was  entered  in  the  log  as  "  having  fal- 
len overboard  in  the  night ; "  but  his  loss  cast  a 
terrible  gloom  over  all  in  the  ship.  Suspicion 
grew  apace,  and  seemed  to  become  confirmed, 
as  open  war  was  soon  declared  between  the 
crew  and  Antonio. 

Every  man  was  ready  to  take  his  "  tricU  "  at 
the  wheel,  rather  than  trust  the  Eugenie  to  his 
steering  in  the  night,  lest  he  might  let  her  broach 
to,  and  lose  her  spars,  or  do  some  other  mischief ; 
and  no  man,  if  he  could  avoid  it,  would  lay  out 
on  the  yard  beyond  him.  No  man  would  walk 
on  the  same  side  of  the  deck  with  him,  or  ex- 
change a  word,  or  a  light  for  a  pipe,  or  use  the 
same  cup  or  plate ;  so  he  was  generally  to  be 
seen,  leaning  moodily  and  alone,  against  the 
windlass-bitts,  with  his  black  eyes  fixed  on  the 
horizon,  as  if  he  expected  a  sail  or  something 
else  to  heave  in  sight. 

We  shall  soon  sec  how  all  this  ended. 


WE   CROSS   THE  LINE.  165 


CHAPTER    XXI. 

WE    CROSS    THE    LINE. 

We  were  now  in  the  latitudes  of  burning  days, 
of  starry  nights,  and  bright  blue  seas.  The 
winds  were  light,  and,  as  usual  near  the  line, 
there  was  a  tremendous  swell  upon  the  ocean, 
which  rose  in  long  and  slowly-heaving  hills,  with- 
out foam  or  ripple  —  smooth,  glassy,  and  with- 
out sound. 

On  a  lovely  night,  when  the  ocean  seemed  to 
sleep  in  the  moonshine,  we  crossed  the  equator. 

The  Eugenie  was  running  with  the  lee  clews 
eased  off  —  i.  e.,  with  a  flowing  sheet — when 
Father  Neptune  came  on  board,  and  the  usual 
unpleasant  pranks  were  played  on  those  who  had 
never  passed  the  girdle  of  the  world  before. 

Great  preparations  had  been  in  progress  all 
day  in  the  forecastle,  and  these  were  perfected 
under  cloud  of  night.  All  the  crew  were  on 
deck  save  Antonio,  who  turned  in,  having  prob- 
ably a  dread  of  what  was  about  to  ensue,  and 
knowing  that  he  was  any  thing  but  a  favorite. 

Accompanied  by  the  shouts  of  the  crew,  and 
preceded  by  Will  White,  playing  "  Rule  Britan- 


166  DICK   RODNEY. 

nia"  on  a  violin,  old  Father  Neptune  was  drawn 
on  a  species  of  hurdle  aft  to  the  quarter-deck, 
where  Weston  stood  ready  to  receive  him,  with 
his  hat  in  one  hand,  and  a  case-bottle  of  brandy 
in  the  other. 

Under  an  old  swab,  which  had  been  well  dried 
and  curled  to  make  a  wig  for  the  son  of  Saturn 
and  Vesta,  I  recognized  the  grotesquely-tattooed 
visage  of  my  friend  Tom  Lambourne.  A  cut- 
lass was  stuck  in  his  girdle,  and  he  wore  a  huge 
paunch  of  canvas  stuffed  with  oakum. 

In  a  gown  made  by  the  sailmaker,  Ned  Carl- 
ton officiated  as  Amphitrite  ;  and  both  deities 
were  armed  with  harpoons,  as  emblems  of  their 
dominion  over  the  sea. 

The  attendant  Tritons  were  got  up  in  the 
same  fashion,  and  all  wore  false  noses  of  singu- 
lar size  and  great  brilliance,  with  tow  wigs,  and 
long  tails. 

On  Neptune  and  his  goddess  receiving  a  dram, 
and  questioning  the  captain  about  his  crew,  it 
was  discovered  that  Antonio  and  I,  were  the 
only  two  on  board  who  had  never  crossed  the 
line  before  ;  whereupon  the  Tritons  whooped  and 
danced  as  they  laid  violent  hands  on  me.  I  sub- 
mitted to  the  usual  shaving  and  so  forth  with  a 
good  grace,  and  compounded,  to  avoid  other  an- 
noyances, for  two  bottles  of  brandy,  and  ascend- 
ing to  the  main-cross-trees,  without  going  through 
the  lubber's  hole.     But  for  the  Cubano  there  was 


WE   CROSS   THE  LINE.  167 

neither  ransom,  escape,  or  outlet ;  and  the  poor 
wretch,  in  consequence  of  his  mysterious  antece- 
dents, was  very  roughly  handled,  the  more  so 
that  he  had  threatened  to  use  his  knife  if  mo- 
icsted. 

It  was  soon  trundled  out  of  his  hand  by  one 
body  of  Tritons,  while  another  soused  him  well 
with  salt  water,  as  he  was  conveyed  past  the 
long  boat,  which  was  lashed  amidships,  and  in 
which  they  were  stationed  with  buckets  ready 
fiUed. 

Held  fast  on  every  side,  he  was  brought  before 
the  "  goddess-born  "  and  inexorable  monarch  of 
^he  main,  who  ordered  "  the  Lord  Chief  Barber 
at  once  to  shave  him." 

Now,  as  Antonio  had  rather  a  luxuriant  beard 
and  moustache,  the  plentiful  application  thereto 
of  a  compound  of  tar  and  slush,  such  as  we  used 
for  greasing  the  masts,  was  the  reverse  of  agreea.- 
ble  ;  but  the  stern  orders  of  Neptune,  which  were 
bellowed  hoarsely  through  a  tin  trumpet,  were 
faithfully  and  elaborately  obeyed,  and  the  con- 
tents of  a  dirty  iron-pot  were  smeared  over  the 
cheeks,  beard,  and  mouth  of  the  Cubano,  by 
Billy,  a  mishievous  shipboy,  with  an  unsparing 
hand. 

"  Demonio  !  Maldita !  "  were  heard  at  inter- 
vals, and  greeted  with  laughter ;  but  when  he  at- 
tempted to  storm,  or  swear,  the  brush  —  a  reek- 
ing tuft  of  oil,  tar,  and  every  horrid  grease  —  was 
thrust  into  his  mouth. 


168  DICK    RODNEY. 

The  Lord  Chief  Barber  was  now  commanded 
to  remove  this  noisome  mess  with  his  razor,  and 
he  scraped  it  off  with  a  piece  of  hoop,  which  had 
been  carefully  notched  for  the  purpose  —  a  pro- 
cess which,  as  it  uprooted  sundry  thick  portions 
of  Antonio's  coal-black  bristles,  caused  him  to 
yeU  and  sputter  out  hoarse  Spanish  oaths  alter- 
nately. 

He  was  again  deluged  with  salt  water  ;  and 
greater  severities  were  about  to  be  practised  upon 
him,  as  some  of  the  Tritons  cried  for  "  the  ghost 
of  Roberts  to  come  out  of  the  sea ; "  others,  to 
"  smoke  him,  by  putting  his  head  in  the  hood  of 
the  cook's  funnel,"  when  Weston  ransomed  him 
for  two  bottles  of  brandy,  and  he  was  permitted 
to  slink  away  to  his  bunk,  breathing  vengeance 
against  all  his  tormentors. 

Grog  was  again  served  round,  the  deck  was 
cleared  for  a  dance,  and  the  crew  footed  the 
hours  away  in  a  succession  of  hornpipes,  w^hile 
the  grim  Cubano  lay  growling  in  the  forecastle. 
Three  cheers  for  the  Captain,  and  three  more  for 
Marc  Hislop,  terminated  the  fun,  and  all  but  the 
watch  retired  below. 

"  They  have  gone  too  far  with  that  fellow,  as 
some  of  us  may  discover  before  the  voyage  comes 
to  a  close,"  said  Hislop,  when  we  were  having  a 
parting  glass  in  the  cabin. 

"  Yes,"  replied  Weston  ;  "  he  is  a  dark  dog, 
and  though  I  am  not  very  rich,  I  would  give  a 


WE   CROSS   THE   LINE.  169 

hundred  pounds  to  fathom  the  mystery  of  old 
Robert's  disappearance.  Well,  here's  to  our 
wives  and  sweethearts  at  home." 

"  I  have  neither  sweetheart  nor  wife,"  said 
Hislop,  as  he  tossed  off  his  glass  ;  "  but  I  have  a 
poor  old  mother  who  loves  me  as  well  as  either 
could  do." 

Weston's  eye  wandered  to  the  portraits  of  his 
wife  and  child,  to  whom  he  was  tenderly  at- 
tached, and  for  whom  aU  his  savings,  by  salary, 
tonnage,  and  hat-money,*  were  carefully  hoarded; 
for  whom,  poor  fellow,  he  tempted  the  dangers 
of  the  great  deep,  the  war  of  the  elements,  and 
endured  the  hardships  of  a  sailor's  life  —  his  wife, 
his  little  one,  and  their  home  — "  his  all ;  his 
sheet-anchor  in  this  world,  and  his  guide  to  the 
next,"  as  I  once  heard  him  say,  forcibly  and 
strangely. 

*  Primage,  or  "  hat-money,"  is  a  small  allowance  paid  to  the 
master  of  a  vessel  for  the  care  he  takes  of  the  goods  with  which 
she  is  ladc^n. 

16 


J  70  DICK   RODNEY. 


CHAPTER  XXII. 

THE    CUBANO    UNMASKED. 

As  we  kept  the  coast  of  South  America  well 
aboard,  a  few  days  after  we  saw  Cape  San 
Roque,  or,  as  it  is  sometimes  named,  Point  Pe- 
linga,  the  north-eastern  extremity  of  Brazil,  rising 
from  the  blue  water  like  a  purple  cloud.  But  it 
diminished  to  a  low  black  streak  on  our  weather 
quarter  when  the  sun  set,  and  we  found  om-- 
seives  ploughing  the  waves  of  the  Southern  At- 
lantic. 

There  fell  a  calm  for  a  whole  day  after  this, 
and  while  the  Eugenie  rolled  lazily  on  the  long 
glassy  swells,  with  her  topsails  flapping,  and  her 
courses  hauled  up,  the  sole  amusement  of  the 
crew  consisted  in  catching  albatrosses,  or  in  kill- 
ing them,  undeteiTed  by  the  old  superstition  that 
it  v/as  a  bird  of  "  good  omen,"  or  by  the  story  of 
liie  "  Ancient  Mariner,"  of  which  they  were 
probably  ignorant. 

A  flock  of  these  gigantic  sea-birds  congregated 
under  our  stern,  where  they  gobbled  up  every 
thing  that  was  thrown  over  to  them ;  so  Hislop 
and  I  proceeded  nethodically  to  fish  them  on 
board. 


THE    CUBANO   UNMASKED.  171 

We  procured  strong  lines,  baited  the  hooks 
with  pieces  of  pork,  lashing  thereto  a  buoy 
formed  of  a  common  cork,  and  lowered  four  of 
these  over  the  stern. 

They  had  scarcely  touched  the  water,  when 
amid  a  furious  flapping  of  heavy  pinions,  they 
were  eagerly  swallowed  ;  the  hooks  and  lines  be- 
gan to  bear  tautly,  and  we  soon  had  four  gigan- 
tic albatrosses  splashing  the  water  into  froth  in 
their  ineffectual  efforts  to  escape. 

We  towed  them  in,  hand  over  hand,  and  after 
measurement  found  the  smallest  to  be  eleven 
feet  from  the  tip  of  one  wing  to  the  tip  of  the 
other.  Though  rank  and  fishy  in  flavor,  the 
flesh  of  these  birds  was  made  into  sea-pies,  on 
which  the  crew  were  regaled  for  two  days  after, 
and  they  partook  of  it  with  great  apparent  relish. 
But  Jack  is  not  very  particular,  especially  when 
at  sea. 

Though  none  of  the  crew  shared  the  supersti- 
tion connected  with  the  destruction  of  an  alba- 
tross, and  probably  none,  save  Hislop  and  my- 
self, knew  the  splendid  ballad  written  by  Cole- 
ridge, it  would  seem  as  if  our  misfortunes  com- 
menced with  that  day's  wanton  sport ! 

The  huge  sea-birds  became  shy  and  left  us. 
The  sun  set  amid  saffron-colored  waves,  and  the 
western  sky  was  all  aflame,  when  the  sails  be- 
gan to  fill  and  collapse  as  the  wind  came  in 
heavy  ouff's,  causing  the  masts  to  sway   from 


172  DICK   RCDNEY. 

side  to  side,  and  the  bellying  courses  to  ?rack 
and  flap  with  a  sound  like  thunder. 

At  last  there  came  a  steady  breeze  ;  the 
courses  were  let  fall,  and  with  both  sheets  aft, 
for  the  wind  was  fair,  the  Eugenie  once  more 
walked  through  the  shining  water. 

JbuU,  round,  and  silvery  the  moon  arose,  and 
tipped  with  liquid  light  every  wave,  that  seemed 
to  dance  onward  with  the  brig,  which  in  half  an 
hour  had  the  snow-white  foam  flying  in  sheets 
over  her  catheads. 

It  was  about  the  hour  of  one  in  the  mornins: 
that  the  horrible  events  which  I  am  about  to  re- 
late occurred. 

I  was  in  the  middle  watch,  relieving  Weston, 
who,  as  the  tropical  dews  were  heavy,  always 
ordered  BiUy  the  cabin  boy  to  give  me  a  glass 
of  brandy-and-water  before  going  on  deck,  for 
fear  of  ague,  and  then  he  turned  in. 

The  sullen  Spaniard  Antonio  was  at  the  wheel. 
Tom  Lambourne,  Ned  Carlton,  and  I,  were  walk- 
ing to  and  fro,  loitering  at  times,  and  looking  at 
the  compass  to  see  how  she  headed,  —  now  aloft 
to  observe  how  the  sails  drew,  —anon  over  the 
Bide,  where  the  water  bubbled  merrily  past,  or 
ahead  at  the  patch  of  blue  and  star-studded  sky 
which  was  visible  under  the  leach  of  the  fore- 
course,  as  the  brig's  bow  lifted  every  now  and 
then,  and  she  rolled  heavily  frojn  side  to  side,  as 
aU  vessels  do  when  running  before  the  wind. 


THE   CUBANO    UNMASKED.  173 

All  was  very  still,  for  save  the  bubble  of  the 
water  in  the  wake  astern,  or  a  gurgle  as  it  surged 
up  in  the  rudder-case,  llie  creaking  of  a  block,  or 
the  iron  slings  of  the  lower  yards,  not  a  sound 
stole  upon  the  first  hour  of  the  silent  morning. 

Two  of  the  albatrosses  we  had  caught,  were 
hanging  by  the  legs  from  the  gallows-top  abaft 
the  foremast,  where  their  great  extended  wings 
swung  somewhat  mournfully  to  and  fro  in  the 
wind  and  by  the  motion  of  the  ship. 

"  Hallo  I  "  said  Tom  Lambourne,  suddenly 
looking  aloft,  as  the  topsails  flapped  and  shiv- 
ered ;  "  she's  yawing  or  steering  wild  ;  what  is 
that  Spaniard  about  ?  " 

"  But  where  is  he?"  added  Carlton,  as  we  now 
missed  Antonio  from  the  wheel  ;  "  Antonio, 
where  are  you  ?  " 

"  Gone  overboard,  I  hope,"  exclaimed  the  sec- 
ond mate,  with  something  more  that  need  not  be 
repealed,  as  he  rushed  to  the  wheel,  and  after 
making  it  revolve  a  few  turns  rapidly,  he  filled 
the  sails  and  steadied  the  brig.  This  was  done 
just  in  time,  for  the  Eugenie  had  a  press  of  can- 
vas on  her,  and  had  she  been  taken  aback,  the 
consequences  might  have  been  most  serious. 

"  Look  about  for  the  skulking  lubber,"  said 
Lambourne,  in  great  wrath,  "  and  souse  him  well 
with  a  slush-bucket ;  another  moment  and  the 
craft  would  have  broached  to  I " 

15* 


174  DICK   RODNEY. 

"  He  must  have  crept  behind  the  longboat,  and 
got  into  the  forecastle,"  suggested  Carlton. 

"  I'll  bring  him  up  with  a  round  turn  for  play- 
ing this  trick  I  "  grumbled  Lambourne. 

"  Hush,"  said  I,  as  a  strange  sound  fell  upon 
niy  ear. 

"  What  is  it?  "  asked  the  others,  listening. 

"  A  cry !  —  did  you  not  hear  it  ?  " 

"  No,  —  nonsense  !  "  said  they,  together. 

"  It  was  a  cry  that  came  from  somewhere." 

"  I  did  hear  something,"  said  Will  White  ; 
*'  but  it  was  a  sheave  creaking  in  a  block  aloft, 
I  think." 

"  No,  no,"  said  I,  pausing  just  by  the  capstan, 
as  a  terrible  foreboding  seized  me  ;  "  it  came 
from  the  cabin." 

"  There  is  no  one  there  but  the  Captain,  His- 
lop,  and  the  boy  Bill,  who  sleeps  in  the  steerage, 
and  they  are  all  three  sound  enough  by  this 
time,"  said  Lambourne. 

"  But  the  sound  was  from  the  cabin,"  I  per- 
sisted, hastening  aft. 

At  that  moment  another  cry,  loud  and  piteous, 
—  a  cry  that  sank  into  a  hoarse  moan,  echoed 
through  the  brig,  "  piercing  the  night's  dull  ear," 
and  ringing  high  above  the  welter  of  the  sea 
alongside,  the  bubble  at  the  stem  and  stern,  or 
the  hum  of  the  wind  through  the  taut  rigging. 

We  all  rushed  aft  to  the  companion,  and  at 
that  instant  Antonio  sprang  up  the  cabin  stair. 


THE   CUBANO   UNMASKED.  175 

By  the  clear  splendor  of  the  tropical  moonlight, 
we  could  see  that  his  usually  swarthy  visage  was 
pale  as  death,  while  his  black  eyes  blazed  like  two 
burning  coals.  He  grasped  his  unsheathed  knife, 
the  blade  of  which,  as  well  as  his  hands  and 
clothes,  were  covered  with  blood  ! 

My  heart  grew  sick  with  vague  apprehension, 
and  my  first  thought  was  for  a  weapon  ;  but 
none  was  near. 

"  What  have  you  been  about,  you  rascally 
picaroon,  —  and  why  did  you  leave  the  wheel?" 
shouted  Lambourne,  becoming  greatly  excited  ; 
"the  masts  might  have  gone  by  the  board, — 
what  devil's  work  have  you  been  after  below  ?  " 

Then  the  dark  Spanish  creole  grinned,  as  the 
blood  dripped  from  his  hands  on  the  white  and 
moonlit  deck. 

"  Knock  him  down  with  a  handspike,  Carlton," 
added  Lambourne,  who  could  not  leave  the 
wheel ;  "  knock  him  down,  —  the  shark-faced 
swab ! " 

On  hearing  this,  Antonio  drew  from  his  breast 
a  revolver  pistol,  one  of  a  pair  which  we  knew 
always  hung  loaded  in  Weston's  cabin,  and  fired 
straight  at  the  head  of  Carlton,  who  dodged  the 
shot,  which  killed  the  seaman,  named  Will 
White,  who  stood  behind  him. 

The  ball  pierced  the  brain  of  the  poor  fellow, 
who  bounded  convulsively,  nearly  three  feet  from 
the  deck  ;  he  fell  heavily  on  his  face,  and  never 


176  DICK   RODNEY. 

moved    again,    for   he   was   dead,  —  dead  as    a 
stone  ! 

In  its  suddenness,  this  terrible  deed  paralyzed 
us  with  horror,  not  unmixed  wdth  fear,  as  we 
were  all  unarmed  an;!  completely  in  the  power 
of  this  Spanish  demon,  the  report  of  whose  pis 
tol  brought  all  the  startled  crew,  tumbling  over 
each  other,  out  of  the  forecastle. 

"  Aha,  maldita !  Santos  y  Angeles  !  "  said  the 
Spaniard,  waving  the  pistol,  the  muzzle  of  which 
yet  smoked,  toward  us  in  a  half  circle,  as  a  warn- 
ing for  all  to  stand  back  ;  "  did  you  think  to  run 
your  rigs  upon  me  ?  I  am  Antonio  el  Cubano, 
and  don't  value  you  all  a  rope's-end  or  a  rotten 
castano,  as  you  shall  find.  I  am  now  the  cap- 
tain of  this  ship,  and  shall  force  you  all  to  obey 
me,  or  else  "  —  here  he  swore  one  of  those  son- 
orous and  blasphemous  oaths  which  run  so  ghbly 
from  a  Spanish  tongue  —  "I  will  shoot  you  all 
in  succession,  till  I  am  the  last  man  left  on  board ; 
and  when  I  am  tired  of  the  ship  I  can  burn  or 
scuttle  her.     Do  you  understand  all  this  ?  " 

Dead  silence  followed  this  strange  address,  the 
half  of  which  was  scarcely  understood  by  ou. 
men,  as  it  was  said  in  Spanish. 

"  Basta ! "  (avast)  "  I  see  that  you  do  under- 
stand," he  resumed  ;  "  and  now  begin  by  obedi 
ence.     Throw  this  carrion  —  this  bestia  muerta 
—  overboard." 

But  perceiving  how  we  all  shrunk  back,  — 


THE   CUBANO   UNMASKED.  177 

**  Overboard  with  hira,"  he  added,  brutally 
kicking  the  inanimate  body  of  poor  Will  White  ; 
"or  demonio,  I  shall  sejid  the  first  who  disobeys 
me  to  keep  him  company !  " 

He  grasped  me  by  the  arm  ;  his  hateful  clutch 
was  firm  as  a  smith's  vice ;  and  then  he  levelled 
his  pistol  at  the  head  of  Ned  Carlton. 

For  a  moment  the  latter  stood  irresolute,  and 
then  seeing  the  black  muzzle  of  the  revolver 
within  a  foot  of  his  head,  he  muttered  a  deep 
malediction,  stamped  his  foot  with  rage  on  the 
deck,  and  said,  — 

"  Mr.  Rodney,  bear  a  hand  w^ith  me  to  launch 
this  murdered  man,  —  this  poor  fellow  over- 
board ! " 

"  Obey ! "  thundered  Antonio. 

Like  one  in  a  dream  I  bent  over  the  dead 
man,  on  whose  pale  face,  glazed  eyes,  and  re- 
laxed jaw,  the  bright  moonhght  was  shining,  and 
in  my  excitement  and  bewilderment,  I  nearly 
shpped  and  fell  in  the  pool  of  blood  which  flowed 
from  his  death  wound. 

I  had  never  touched  a,  corpse  before,  and  an 
irrepressible  shudder  ran  through  all  my  veins. 
But  that  emotion  once  over,  I  could  have  han- 
dled a  dozen,  with  perhaps  indifference ;  and 
there  are  few  who,  after  touching  the  dead,  have 
not  experienced  this  change  of  feeling. 

Ned  Carlton,  with  a  sound  like  a  sob  in  his 
honest    breast  —  a    sob   of    mingled   rage   and 


178  DICK   RODNEY. 

commiseration  —  raised  the  yet  warm  body ;  I 
took  the  feet,  and  through  one  of  the  quarter- 
boards,  which  was  open,  we  launched  it  into  the 
great  deep,  and  as  the  brig  flew  on,  rolling  before 
the  early  morning  wind,  there  remained  no  trace 
of  poor  Will  White  but  his  blood,  a  dark  pool 
upon  the  deck  ;  and  the  crew  stood  staring  at  it 
and  at  each  other  with  blank  irresolution,  hor- 
ror, and  dismay  expressed  in  aU  their  faces. 

Empty-handed  and  defenceless  as  we  all  were, 
each  was  afraid  to  speak  or  act,  lest  he  might  be 
the  next  victim  whom  the  merciless  Cubano 
would  shoot  down. 

With  a  growl  of  defiance  Antonio  now  turned 
away,  and  brandishing  the  revolver  in  token  of 
the  obedience  he  meant  to  exact,  he  descended 
slowly  into  the  cabin,  where  we  soon  heard  him 
smashing  open  the  lockers,  and  busy  with  the 
case-bottles  in  the  steward's  locker,  or  Billy  the 
cabin-boy's  pantry. 

His  depiirture  seemed  a  relief  to  all,  but  in 
half  a  minute  after  he  was  gone  below,  little 
Billy,  or  "  boy  Bill,"  as  he  was  usually  termed, 
whose  sleeping  place  was  the  steerage,  rushed 
up  the  cabin  stair  in  his  shirt,  and  ran  among  us, 
Bobbing  with  fear  and  dismay. 


CONFERENCE   OF   THE   CREW.  175) 


CHAPTER   XXIII. 

CONFERENCE    OF    THE     CREW. 

Some  time  elapsed  before  the  poor  boy  became 
Bufficiently  coherent  to  be  understood,  but  it 
would  seem  that  on  hearing  the  first  cry,  which 
had  alarmed  me,  he  sprang  out  of  his  berth, 
which  was  at  the  foot  of  the  companionway,  and 
on  looking  into  the  cabin,  he  saw  by  the  night 
lamp  which  swung  in  the  skylight,  the  Cubano 
armed  with  a  bloody  knife,  rush  from  the  cap- 
tain's state-room  into  that  of  the  mate,  which 
was  opposite. 

Another  choking  cry  acquainted  him  that  An- 
tonio had  stabbed  Hislop  in  his  sleep  ;  and  fear- 
ing that  his  own  turn  would  come  next,  he  had 
crept  into  an  empty  cask  which  lay  below  the 
companion-ladder,  and  remained  there,  trembling 
with  dread,  until  he  took  an  opportunity  of  rush- 
ing on  deck  and  joining  us. 

This  terrible  revelation  added  to  our  dismay. 

We  were  now  in  a  desperate  predicament, 
without  a  captain  or  mate  to  navigate  the  brig, 
and  at  the  mercy  of  a  well-armed  desperado,  to 
whom  homicide  was  a  pastime  ;  thus,  all  who  had 


180  DICK   RODNEY. 

handled  him  so  severely  on  the  night  we  crossed 
the  line  began  to  feel  no  small  degree  of  alarm 
for  their  own  safety,  being  certain  that  more 
blood  would  be  shed  the  moment  he  came  on 
deck. 

All  dressed  themselves  with  the  utmost  expe- 
dition, and  it  was  resolved  to  hold  a  council  of 
war.  Lambouine  was  still  at  the  wheel ;  and  to 
be  prepared  for  any  emergency,  he  resolved  to 
reduce  the  canvas  on  the  brig.  So  the  royals 
were  sent  down,  all  studding-sails  taken  in, 
and  the  topsails  were  handed :  all  this  was  done 
as  quietly  as  possible,  lest  any  sound  might 
rouse  the  fiend  who  seemed  now  to  possess  the 
Eugenie. 

Lambourne  ventured  to  peep  down  the  sky- 
light, when  he  saw  Antonio  drinking  brandy 
from  a  case-bottle,  Avithout  troubling  himself 
with  a  glass.  Then  the  Spaniard  proceeded  to 
attire  himself  in  the  best  clothes  of  Captain 
Weston ;  he  forced  open  several  lockfast  places, 
and  took  from  them  money  and  jewelry,  which 
he  concealed  about  his  person.  What  his  ulti- 
mate object  could  be  in  performing  these  acts  of 
plunder  on  the  open  sea,  we  could  neither  con 
ceive  nor  divine,  but  on  chancing  to  glance  up- 
ward, he  caught  a  glimpse  of  Tom's  eyes  peering 
down. 

There  was  an  explosion,  a  crashing  of  glass, 
and  a  ball  from  a  revolver,  fired  upward,  grazed 


CONFERENCE   OF   THE   CREW.  181 

Tom's  left  ear  and  pierced  the  rim  of  his  sou'- 
wester as  a  hint  that  our  Cubano  had  no  inten- 
tion of  being  overlooked  in  his  operations 
below. 

We  heard  him  close  the  cabin  door  with  a 
bang,  and  after  locking  it,  throw  himself  on  the 
floor  behind  it,  with  the  intention  of  sleeping 
probably,  but  with  the  fuU  resolution  that  no 
one  should  enter  without  disturbing  him ;  and 
in  this  way,  after  examining  his  pistols,  he 
reposed  every  night  afterwards  w^hile  on  board. 

"  By  jingo !  I  thought  the  killipg  o'  them 
birds  would  lead  to  bad  luck  somehow,"  said 
Henry  Warren,  an  old  foremast  man,  with  a 
reproachful  glance  at  me,  as  he  threw  the  two 
albatrosses  overboard. 

We  now  held  a  solemn  conference  to  meet  the 
emergency  which  was  certain  to  come  anon,  and 
to  consider  the  best  means  of  subduing  and  dis- 
arming the  culprit. 

"  Whoever  goes  nigh  him  in  the  cabin,  either 

by  the  door  or  the  skylight,  risks  being  stabbed 

or  shot,"  said  Tattooed  Tom  ;  "  so  we  must  go 

to  work  some  other  way,  shipmates,  and  that 

otlier  way  must  be  considered." 

I  "  We  might  close  and  batten  the  skylight  and 

'  companion,  and  then  starve  or  smoke  him  out," 

suggested  one  of  the  crew,  Francis  Probart,  our 

[  carpenter. 

"  Smoke  him  out  ?  "  echoed  Tom. 

16 


182  DICK   RODNEY. 

"  Yes,  as  we  do  rats." 

"By  what?" 

"  Fill  a  bucket  with  spun-yarn,  and  greased 
flax,  with  sulphur  and  bilge-water  —  ain't  that 
the  medical  compound  for  rats " 

"  Nonsense,"  said  Tom  ;  "  you  would  burn  the 
Bhip " 

"  As  he  has  often  threatened  to  do,"  said 
Carlton,  "  and  may  do  yet." 

A  most  extraordinary  scheme  was  proposed  by 
one  man,  that  we  should  launch  the  longboat, 
throw  into  her  some  bags  of  bread  and  gang- 
casks  of  water,  unship  the  compass,  double-bank 
the  oars,  and  shove  off  for  the  coast  of  South 
America,  after  scuttling  the  brig  and  leaving 
Antonio  to  his  fate. 

"We  were  in  a  hon'ible  state  of  perplexity,  and 
I  seemed  to  see  constantly  before  me  the  gashed 
bodies  of  my  two  kind,  brave,  and  hospitable 
friends  —  Captain  Weston  and  Marc  Hislop  — 
lying  in  their  berths  dead  and  unavenged,  with 
their  destroyer  beside  them  ! 

We  had  the  capstan-bars,  and  with  these  it 
was  proposed  to  assail  him  when  next  he  came 
on  deck.  Then  we  had  the  carpenter's  tools, 
among  which  a  hand-saw,  an  auger,  an  adze,  and 
a  hatchet,  made  very  available  weapons,  and 
these,  with  the  old  cutlass  and  harpoons  which 
figured  on  the  night  we  crossed  the  line,  were 
speedily   appropriated.      I  was    armed   with   a 


CONFERENCE    OF   THE   CREW.  183 

heavy  jlaw-hammer,  and,  vowing  firmly  to  stand 
b^  each  other,  we  resolved  to  lynch  Antonio  the 
moment  he  came  out  of  his  den. 

While  we  were  thus  employed  in  devising  the 
means  of  punishment,  the  dark  shadows  of  night 
passed  away ;  the  morning  sun  came  up  in  his 
tropical  splendor,  and  the  blue  waves  of  the 
southern  sea  rolled  around  us  in  light,  but  not  a 
sail  was  visible  on  their  vast  expanse. 

The  crew  seemed  pale  and  excited,  as  they 
might  well  be,  and  by  buckets  of  water  we 
cleansed  the  deck  from  the  blood  that  stained  it. 

The  morning  advanced  into  noon,  and  the 
vessel  was  steered  her  due  com-se,  for  the  wind 
was  still  fair.  Ned  Carlton  was  at  the  wheel, 
and  the  men  were  all  grouped  forward,  when 
suddenly  Antonio  appeared  on  deck  with  a  knife 
in  his  sash  and  a  revolver  in  each  hand. 

He  was  so  pale  that  his  olive  face  seemed 
almost  a  pea-green,  and  a  black  crust  upon  his 
cruel  lips  showed  the  extent  of  his  potations  in 
the  cabin.  He  glanced  into  the  binnacle,  and 
perceiving  that  the  brig  was  still  being  steered 
her  old  course,  he  cried,  in  a  hoarse  voice,  — 

"  Hombres,  allegarse  a  la  cuesta  I  "  (men,  bear 
toward  the  land),  and  pointing  to  the  direction 
in  which  he  knew  the  vast  continent  of  South 
America  —  from  which  we  were  probably  four 
or  five  hundred  miles  distant  —  must  be,  he 
added   orders   in    English   to    shape    the   brig'a 


1&4  DICK   RODNEY. 

com-se  due  west,  and  stamped  his  right  foot  on 
the  deck  to  give  his  words  additional  force. 

He  took  us  so  suddenly  by  surprise,  that,  al- 
though we  had  been  waiting  and  watching  for 
him  since  dawn,  his  resolute  aspect  and  the  arms 
he  wielded  controlled  us  all,  and  we  stared  at 
each  other  with  irresolution  in  our  purpose  and 
in  our  faces.  No  man,  apparently,  cared  to  act 
as  leader. 

"  Presto  !  "  roared  the  Cubano  ;  "  obey  and 
keep  quiet,  or,  demonio !  as  there  are  so  many, 
I  have  a  great  mind  to  shoot  one  half,  that  I  may 
be  able  to  control  the  rest.  Cast  loose  those  top- 
sails, and  up  with  the  royals  again  —  set  the  fly- 
ing-gib, and  main  trysail  —  quick,  perros,  or  I'll 
make  shark's  meat  of  some  more  of  you !  " 

The  crew  seemed  to  lack  either  resolution  or 
the  power  of  combination,  and  no  man  appeared 
anxious  to  incur  the  sure  penalty  of  instant 
4eath  by  acting  in  opposition  to  his  peremptory 
orders  in  setting  an  example  to  the  rest.  So, 
sullenly  and  silently  the  sail  trimmers  stood  by 
'he  tacks  and  braces;  the  wheel  revolved  in  the 
unwilling  hands  of  Ned  Carlton,  who  was  com- 
pelled to  obey,  for  the  cold  muzzle  of  a  six-bar- 
relled revolver,  capped  and  cocked,  was  held  close 
to  his  left  temple. 

The  head  of  the  Eugenie  payed  off  in  obedi- 
ence to  her  helm,  the  yards  swung  round  and 
were  braced  sharp  up ;  and  with  the  starboard 


CONFERENCE    OF   THE   CREW.  185 

tacks  on  board,  in  three  minutes  we  were  steer- 
ing as  due  westward  as  her  head  woiild  lie  for 
the  coast  of  South  America. 

This  alteration  of  our  course  furnished  the 
crew  with  a  new  source  of  speculation.  It  was 
evidently  the  intention  of  Antonio,  if  he  could 
reach  the  coast  of  Seguro,  or  that  of  Bahia,  to 
escape  with  all  his  valuables  and  his  vengeance ; 
and  to  this  end,  if  ships  passed  without  succoring 
or  overhauling  us,  and  if  we  did  not  destroy  him, 
he  might  certainly  destroy  us,  by  scuttling  the 
brig,  or  setting  her  on  fire. 

The  noon  passed  over  without  an  "  observa- 
tion," for  there  was  no  one  to  work  it,  to  esti- 
mate the  latitude  or  longitude,  to  keep  a  reckon- 
ing, or  take  note  of  our  variation  and  leeway ; 
and  lest  we  should  signal  any  passing  ship,  An- 
tonio, who  was  a  most  thoughtful  scoundrel, 
threw  every  color  we  had  overboard.  He  did 
not  come  on  deck  again  for  some  time,  as  he 
had  plenty  of  spirits  and  provisions  below,  and 
the  tell-tale  compass  in  the  skylight  afforded  him 
constant  information  as  to  whether  the  brig  was 
teered  in  the  direction  he  wished. 

He  was  constantly  drinking,  but  never  became 
so  intoxicated  as  to  be  unwary. 

And  so  the  fated  brig  glided  over  the  hot  sea, 
under  the  blazing  sun.  The  albatrosses  came 
round  us  again,  with  tripping  feet,  flapping 
wings,  and  open  bills ;  but  no  one  molested  them 

10* 


186  DICK   RODNEY. 

now  —  we  had  other  things  to  think  of;  and  as 
I  sat  on  the  anchor  stock  in  the  weather  bow, 
watching  them  floating  in  the  water,  or  skim- 
ming over  it  with  their  vast  wings  outspread,  I 
thought  of  the  "  Ancient  Mariner,"  and  all  that 
he  had  suffered  for  killing  "the  bird  of  good 
omen." 

I  felt  a  strange  dread  creeping  over  me  while 
these  verses  seemed  on  my  tongue  —  they  were 
so  descriptive  of  the  atmosphere  and  of  our  situ- 
ation : 

"All  in  a  hot  and  copper  sky, 
The  bloody  sun  at  noon, 
Right  up  above  the  mast  did  stand. 
No  bigger  than  the  moon. 

*  *  *  * 

"  I  closed  my  lids,  and  kept  them  close. 

And  the  balls  like  pulses  beat. 

For  the  sea  and  sky,  and  the  sea  and  sky. 

Lay  like  a  load  on  my  weaiy  eye, 

Aud  the  dead  were  at  my  feet." 


I  CONFRONT  THE  CUBANO.         187 


CHAPTER   XXIV. 

I    CONFRONT    THE    CUBANO. 

From  the  wild  thoughts  and  fancies  which  the 
horrors  of  that  early  morning,  our  strange  situa- 
tion, and  my  own  rather  active  imagination, 
were  suggesting,  I  was  roused  by  Ned  Carlton, 
who,  on  being  relieved  from  the  wheel,  came 
forward  to  the  bows,  where  most  of  the  crew 
were  seated  on  the  windlass,  or  were  lounging 
against  the  bitts,  speculating  on  what  might  tm-n 
up  next. 

In  an  excited  and  impressive  manner,  he  reported 
that  he  had  heard,  from  time  to  time,  the  sound 
of  moans,  as  from  some  one  in  great  pain  in  the 
cabin  ;  that  he  believed  that  either  the  captain  or 
mate  yet  survived  ;  and  if  we  could  get  down  by 
any  means  we  might  be  in  time  to  save  one  or 
other.  If  he  was  bleeding  to  death,  the  victim 
could  not  last  long,  —  a  little  time,  and  we  should 
be  too  late ! 

This  information  increased  our  anxiety,  and 
greatly  excited  us. 

Remembering  the  manner  in  which  Antonio  first 
came  on  board  —  the  mystery  of  his  being  alone 


l88  DICK   RODNEr. 

in  the  blood-stained  boat  —  his  dreams  —  the 
disappearance  of  Roberts  —  the  occurrences  of 
the  morning  —  and  though  last  not  least,  the 
rough  treatment  to  which  the  crew  had  subjected 
him  on  the  night  we  passed  the  line,  —  none 
were  very  willing  to  enter  the  cabin  where  thi 
savage  Cubano,  Hushed  with  brandy,  bloodshed, 
and  ferocity,  sat  with  loaded  pistols  in  his  hands. 
But  all  felt  that  something  must  be  done ;  that, 
while  a  doubt  remained,  it  should  be  solved,  and 
a  life  so  important  to  us  saved,  even  though 
others  be  risked  for  it. 

I  volunteered  to  become  the  envoy  of  the 
crew. 

"  No,  no.  Master  Rodney,"  said  Tattooed 
Tom ;  "  this  will  never  do !  What,  do  you  think 
we  will  let  you  venture  into  that  murderer's 
den  while  so  many  able-bodied  fellows  hang 
astern  ?  " 

"  But  I  know  his  language,  which  none  of  you 
do." 

"  He  speaks  the  Queen's  English  now  as  well 
as  any  of  us,"  said  Carlton ;  "  and  if  I  had  only 
a  pistol  or  a  musket  to  give  me  but  one  chance 
for  my  life,  I  would  have  made  it  speak  to  him 
long  ago,  in  lhe  lingo  such  pirates  know  b(ist." 

"  Moreover,  as  I  did  not  molest  him  on  the 
night  we  crossed  the  line,  he  has  no  particular 
grudge  at  me,"  I  urged. 

"  There  is  tome  sense  and  truth  in  that,"  mut- 
tered several  of  the  crew. 


I  CONFRONT  THE  CUBANO.        189 

"I'll  go  —  it  is  settled,"  said  I,  anxious  to 
solve  the  mystery  of  the  groans,  while  feeling  a 
glow  of  triumph  at  the  applause  I  should  gain 
for  the  risiv  1  ran,  which  assuredly  was  not  a 
small  one. 

"  It  is  a  shame  for  us  lubberly  fellows  to  stand 
by  here  and  see  that  lad  risk  his  life,'"  said  Pro- 
bart,  one  of  the  crew ;  "  and  if  so  be  that  Creole 
picaroon  falls  foul  of  him " 

"  If  he  does,"  exclaimed  Tom  Lambourne 
through  his  firmly  set  teeth,  while  striking  his 
clenched  right  hand  on  the  hard  palm  of  the  left, 
"  may  I  never  see  England  again  if  we  don't 
attack  him  both  at  stem  and  stern  at  once  I  I'll 
*  drop  down  the  skylight,  with  as  many  as  wiU 
follow  me,  while  you,  Ned,  will  dash  down  the 
companionway  with  the  rest,  and  then  at  him 
with  hatchet,  handsaw,  and  capstan-bar.  He 
can't  kill  us  all^  shipmates,  that's  one  comfort  — 
he  can't  kill  us  all !  " 

The  prospect  of  an  early  demise  was  neither 
soothed  nor  encouraged  by  this  promise  of  the 
bloody  scene  that  was  to  follow. 

The  carpenter  gave  me  a  small  but  very  sharp 
tomahawk.  I  concealed  it  in  my  breast,  and 
resolved  to  use  it  to  some  purpose  if  molested  in 
the  cabin.  The  idea  flashed  upon  me  that  by 
one  determined  blow  I  might  disable  him  for- 
ever, and  perhaps  do  an  act  of  justice  by  dis- 
patching him  outright. 


190  DICK    RODNEY. 

With  a  vague  sense  that  I  was  about  to  face 
a  terrible  danger,  and  that  the  sooner  it  was  faced 
and  past,  the  better,  I  walked  hastily  aft,  and  on 
descending  the  companion-ladder,  paused  when 
half-way  down,  and  after  knocking  on  the  bulk- 
head called  out  distinctly  and  boldly,  — 

"  Antonio  I     Hallo,  Cubano  !  " 

"  Well,  what  do  you  want?"  asked  he,  sulk- 

iiy. 

"  To  speak  with  you ;  may  I  come  down  ?  " 

"  Enter  companero  ;  you  have  not  yet  harmed 
me,  thus  I  bear  you  no  malice.'' 

Putting  a  hand  in  my  breast  to  ascertain  that 
my  little  hatchet  was  secure,  I  entered  the  cabin, 
where  the  Cubano,  with  his  broad  back  placed  « 
against  the  rudder-case,  was  seated  on  the  stern- 
locker  at  the  table,  which  he  had  covered  with 
bottles,  biscuits,  cheese,  and  polonies,  while  pa- 
pers, dockets,  broken  desks  and  boxes,  lay  scat- 
tered about  him.  He  was  clad,  as  I  have  stated, 
in  the  poor  skipper's  best  shore-going  suit  of 
clothes,  which  he  wore  open  and  loose,  for  the 
atmosphere  of  the  cabin,  notwithstanding  the 
shattered  skylight,  was  oppressively  hot,  as  the 
sun  was  now  almost  vertical ;  the  flies  were  in 
noisy  swarms,  and  the  cockroaches  were  crawl- 
ing over  all  the  beams  and  bulkhead  panels. 

On  fii-st  hearing  a  foot  on  the  companion-lad- 
der, he  had  evidently  snatched  up  a  revolver,  and 
cocked  it;  but  on  finding  that  his  visitor  was 


I  CONFRONT  THE  CUBANO.        191 

only  me,  he  put  it  down,  threw  away  the  fag-end 
of  a  cigarito,  and  said,  W-  th  a  ferocious  grin  and 
ironical  politeness, — 

"  Buenos  dias  (a  good  day),  senor ;  to  what 
am  I  indebted  for  this  visit  ?  " 

It  was  the  first  time  I  had  ever  looked  in  the 
face  of  a  man  who  had  coolly  destroyed  a  fellow- 
being  as  he  had  done,  and  my  flesh  seemed  to 
creep  with  an  indescribable  loathing  ;  but  I  had 
a  purpose  to  achieve,  and  determined  to  do  it. 

I  was  about  to  enter  "Weston's  state-room, 
when  the  Cubano  cocked  his  revolver  and  cried, 
in  a  voice  of  thunder,  — 

"  Come  back,  or  I  will  shoot  you  as  dead  as 
he  is !  Ha,  ha !  por  grados  "  (by  degrees)  «  I 
shall  get  rid  of  you  all." 

I  paused  and  looked  at  him ;  my  young  heart 
beat  wildly;  I  felt  that  I  was  facing  death,  and 
what  would  I  not  have  given  had  my  hatchet 
been  a  pistol,  even  with  one  barrel,  though  my 
opponent  was  master  of  twelve  charges. 

"  He  is  dead  then  ?  "  said  I,  in  a  husky  voice. 

«  Who  —  which  ?  "  asked  the  Cubano,  with  a 
fresh  cigarito  between  his  strong  white  teeth. 

«  Captain  Weston." 

«  Aye,  dead  as  Judas !  "  said  he,  laughing 
hoarsely. 

"  But  I  understand  that  Hislop  —  "I  stam- 
mered. 

"  El  contra-maestre  —  well  ?  " 


192  DICK   RODNEY. 

At  that  moment,  a  low  moan  which  went 
through  my  heart,  came  from  the  state-room  or 
little  side  cabin  of  Mark  Hislop. 

"  Well,  hombre,  what  of  him  ?  "  growled  An- 
tonio. 

"  He  is  bleeding  to  death,  and  I  wish  to  re 
move  him." 

"  Do  as  you  please,  he  will  be  food  for  the  fish 
before  the  sun  sets." 

"  You  will  allow  me  to  take  him  on  deck  ?  " 
said  I,  earnestly,  almost  imploringly. 

"  Yes ;  you  have  done  me  no  harm  ;  "  (he  re- 
peated this  very  often)  "woe  to  those  who  have 
done  so ! " 

A  gleam  of  suspicion  flashed  in  the  eyes  of 
Antonio  as  he  said  — 

"  True ;  but  not  a  man  shall  enter  here,  and 
leave  alive.  The  ship-boys  may  assist  you  ;  but 
I  will  shoot  the  whole  crew  down  like  dosfs,  if 
they  venture  to  approach  me;  so  I  give  you  five 
minutes  to  carry  the  contra-maestre  to  the  fore- 
castle bunks,  or  to  pitch  him  overboard,  which- 
ever you  please,  though  the  last  would  please 
we." 

"  Five  minutes  ?  " 

"  Yes,  five  by  this  watch,"  he  added,  pulling 
out  of  his  fob  a  gold  repeater,  which,  even  in  the 
excitement  of  the  moment,  I  recognized  to  be 
mine,  the  same  which  my  mother  gave  me,  when 
I  first  left  home  for  Eton,  and  of  which    I   had 


I  CONFRONT  THE  CUBANO.         193 

been  robbed  at  TenerifFe.  There  was  no  doubt- 
ing the  little  rings  and  charms  which  my  sisters 
Dot,  Sybil,  and  one  of  tiieir  female  friends  had 
appended  to  it ;  and  thub  I  discovered  another 
black  link  in  the  life  of  Antonio. 

I  dared  not  appear  to  recognize  it  when  his 
strong,  brown,  hairy  hand,  the  bloody  spots  on 
which  made  me  shudder,  held  it  toward  me,  lest 
he  might  shoot  me  down,  but  summoned  Billy 
Wilkins,  the  cabin  boy,  by  desiring  the  man  at 
the  wheel,  "  to  pass  word  forward  for  him  and 
another  apprentice." 

The  boys  came,  but  not  without  great  fear 
and  reluctance ;  and  while  Antonio  proceeded 
leisurely  to  make  anothci-  paper  cigar,  keeping 
his  ears  open  for  every  sound,  and  his  black  eyes 
fixed  keenly  on  us  the  while,  we  entered  the  little 
state-room  of  Marc  Hislop,  and  beheld  a  sight 
which  filled  us  with  the  deepest  commiseration 
and  dismay. 

17 


194  DICK   RODNEY. 


CHAPTER    XXV. 

I    RESCUE    THE    MATE. 

Pale  as  marble,  with  his  lower  jaw  relaxed 
and  his  eyes  almost  closed,  motionless  as  if 
dead,  but,  nevertheless,  still  breathing  slowly 
and  heavily,  poor  Marc  Hislop  lay  in  his  bed, 
the  clothes  and  pillows  of  which  were  saturated 
with  blood ;  for  he  seemed  to  be  covered  by 
wounds,  and  the  crimson  current  had  flowed 
over  the  piles  of  his  favorite  books,  which  were 
scattered  upon  the  cabin  floor,  where  they  had 
been  trod  under  foot  by  Antonio  while  over- 
hauling the  repositories  of  the  unfortunate  pro- 
prietor. 

Shuddering,  and  in  haste,  we  lifted  him  from 
the  bed,  mufHed  him  in  a  blanket,  and  conveyed 
him,  passive  as  a  child,  in  our  hands,  from  the 
cabin. 

As  we  passed  out,  for  a  nrioment  it  seemed  as 
if  the  ruffianly  Spaniard  repented  of  his  tempo- 
rary clemency ;  for  when  he  saw  the  pale, 
bloody,  and  insensible  form  of  the  poor  fellow 
trailed  past,  he  made  an  ominous  stride  toward 
us,  and  threateningly   clutched  the   haft  of  the 


I  RESCUE   THE   MATE.  195 

Albacete  knife  in  his  sash.  Then  waving  his 
hand,  almost  contemptuously,  he  said,  — 

"  Basta  —  go,  go  —  it  matters  little  now,  either 
to  him  or  to  me.  Demonio !  I  always  strike 
deep." 

Alarm  and  pity  endowed  us  with  unusual 
strength,  and  we  bore  the  speechless  victim  of 
Antonio  up  the  steep  stair  to  1he  deck,  where 
our  crew,  with  muttered  oaths  of  vengeance,  and 
expressions  of  commiseration,  bore  him  into  the 
forepart  of  the  vessel.  There  a  bed  was  made 
up  for  him  on  deck ;  for  coolness,  an  awning 
was  rigged  over  it,  and  we  had  his  wounds  ex- 
amined. 

We  found  a  deep  stab  in  the  neck,  most  dan- 
gerously near  the  jugular  vein ;  a  second  in  the 
breast,  a  third  between  the  bones  of  the  right 
forearm,  and  a  fourth  in  the  left  thigh  ;  all  had 
evidently  been  dealt  through  the  bedclothes,  and 
with  a  savage  energy  of  purpose. 

"  The  poor  lad  is  dying  for  lack  of  a  doctor," 
said  old  Tom,  who  knelt  beside  Hislop,  handling 
his  wounds  with  the  tenderness  of  a  woman ; 
"  and  if  the  whole  British  navy  hove  in  sight, 
we  haven't  a  rag  of  bunting  to  shake  out  as  a 
signal,  since  that  rascally  picaroon,  the  Cubano, 
has  cast  every  color  and  signal  overboard. 

"  Well,  Tom,  he  shan't  die  this  bout,"  said 
Ned  Carlton,  hopefully ;  "  let  us  tie  up  his 
wounds  as  best  we  can,  to  belay  the  bleeding, 
and  give  liiin  something  as  a  reviver." 


196  DICK   RODNEY. 

"  It's  a  blessing  his  old  mother  in  Scotland 
don't  see  all  this,"  added  rough  Tom  Lam- 
bourne,  with  a  tear  in  his  eye  ;  "  poor  Marc  His- 
lop  is  her  only  support,  and  a  sister's  too. 

I  thought  now  with  compunction,  how  often 
his  theories  and  pedantry  had  bored  me,  and  I 
resolved  to  be  unremitting  in  my  care  of  him. 

The  united  medical  skill  of  those  honest  souls, 
our  crew,  was  very  small ;  however,  the  wounds 
were  carefully  washed  in  clean  water ;  their  best 
shirts  were  torn  into  bandages,  or  folded  into 
pads  to  stop  the  bleeding ;  and  in  this  they  were 
quite  successful. 

A  breaker  of  New  England  rum  was  hoisted 
out  of  the  forehold,  and  its  head  was  instantly 
started.  The  liquor  was  very  redolent  of  treacle ; 
but  a  glass  of  it  mixed  with  water  —  the  readiest 
stimulant  that  occurred  to  the  minds  of  the  sea- 
men—  was  poured  between  the  parched  lips  of 
the  sufferer,  who  at  last  slept,  in  the  pleasant 
atmosphere  formed  by  the  awning  which  shaded 
him  from  the  fierce  sun,  and  in  the  breeze  that 
whistled  past  the  bows  as  the  Eugenie  still  bore 
on  her  new  course,  close  hauled,  with  all  her 
fore-and-aft  canvas  set,  and  the  white  glittering 
spray  flying  over  her  cat-heads  and  dolphin 
striker. 

The  terrible  Cubano  still  kept  possession  of 
the  cabin.  His  t\vo  six-bamlled  revolvers  gave 
him  twelve  shots,  and  we  were  but  nine  in  all, 


I   RESCUE   THE   MATE.  197 

as  the  captain,  Roberts,  and  Will  White  had 
already  perished  by  his  hand,  and  Hislop  to  all 
appearance  was  dying ;  thus  Antonio  kept  us  all 
in  subjection  by  his  weapons,  just  as  half  a 
dozen  well-armed  soldiers  may  control  a  mob  of 
thousands. 

So  passed  the  night;  the  crew  grouped  for- 
ward, full  of  schemes  for  vengeance,  and  he  aft, 
full  of  triumph,  ferocity,  and  cognac. 

Next  morning,  I  was  on  the  quarter-deck,  and 
w^hen  day  broke,  I  became  aware,  by  a  plashing 
sound  astern,  that  we  w^ere  towing  something  in 
the  dead  water  of  the  brig's  wake.  On  looking 
over  the  taffrail,  what  were  my  emotions  on 
beholding  the  body  of  my  kind  friend  Weston  — 
our  good  and  hospitable  captain  —  towed  by  the 
neck  at  the  end  of  a  line ! 

Around  the  poor  corpse,  which  was  in  its 
night-dress,  the  green  waves  danced  merrily  in 
the  golden  light  of  the  morning  sun  that  was 
now  beaming  over  the  sea,  "refreshing  the  dis- 
tant shores  and  reviving  all  but  him."  Antonio 
in  the  night  had  cast  it  from  one  of  the  cabin 
windows  on  the  port  side  of  the  rudder-case,  and 
through  that  aperture  the  line  to  which  it  was 
attached  was  now  run. 

By  the  smoke  of  a  cigar  which  ascended  to 
the  taffrail  at  times,  T  discovered  that  the  atro- 
cious Cubano  was  silting  at  the  open  cabin 
window  below  me,  watching  and  waiting  to  see 

17* 


198  DICK   RODNEY. 

the  body  devoured  by  sharks ;  and  I  knew  tnai 
he  would  shoot  all  who  attempted  to  cross  his 
purpose,  or  who  came  within  reach  of  his  pistol. 
Tills  prevented  any  man  from  lowering  himself 
over  the  stern,  either  to  haul  in  the  line  or  cut  it 
adrift. 

"  Demonio !  "  we  heard  him  exclaim,  when,  by 
a  sudden  lurch  of  the  ship,  the  line  parted,  and 
the  poor  corpse  went  rolling  and  surging  to  lee- 
ward. 

"  There  he  goes,  and  God  bless  him,  although 
he's  cut  adrift  without  a  prayer  or  a  sailor's  wind- 
ing-sheet," said  Tom  Lambom-ne,  taking  off  his 
hat,  as  the  body  bobbed  like  a  fisherman's  float 
on  the  waves  for  a  little  space,  and  then  disap- 
peared in  the  long  white  track  made  by  the  Eu- 
genie, through  the  dark  apple-green  of  the  morn- 
ing sea. 

AU  the  stories  I  had  heard  or  read  of  Spanish 
revenge  seemed  eclipsed  by  the  atrocities  of  this 
fiendish  Cubano. 


IHE   REQUITAL.  199 


CHAPTER    XXVI. 


THE    REQUITAL. 


Three  days  and  nights  passed  after  this  with- 
out finding  us  able  to  surprise  or  dislodge  the 
demon  who  was  in  possession  of  the  cabin  ;  with- 
out our  knowing  where  the  ship  was  driving  or 
drifting  to,  and  without  a  sail  aj)pearing.  A 
man-of-war  belonging  to  any  country  we  should 
have  hailed  as  a  protector;  but  on  the  wide 
waters  of  the  Southern  Atlantic  ships  are  few 
and  far  between. 

Hislop  rallied  a  little,  and  was  removed  into 
one  of  the  forecastle  berths.  He  could  tell  us 
only  that  he  had  been  surprised  when  asleep, 
and  been  stabbed  again  and  again  —  that  he  be- 
came insensible,  and  remembered  nothing  more. 
His  distress  was  great  when  we  related  the  story 
of  the  captain's  fate,  the  death  of  Will  White, 
and  that  their  destroyer  was  still  in  possession 
of  the  ship,  and  the  arbiter  of  all  our  lives. 

He  writhed  on  his  bed  of  pain,  and  sighed 
bitterly  on  finding  how  stiff  and  sore,  how  weak 
and  almost  blind  he  had  become  by  loss  of  blood  ; 
but  a  crisis  was  now  at  hand  with  om-  Cubano. 


200  DICK   RODNEY. 

The  evening  of  the  fourth  day  after  we  had 
saved  Hislop  found  thv'  brig  still  lying  a  westerly 
course ;  but  whether  in  the  latitude  of  Cape  San 
Roque  or  of  the  Rio  Grande,  we  knew  not;  and, 
I  suppose,  it  was  all  the  same  to  Antonio. 

I  was  at  the  wheej.  The  sunset  was  gor- 
geously beautiful.  The  Eugenie  was  running 
with  both  tacks  aft;  and  under  the  arched  leech 
of  her  courses  I  could  see  the  blood-red  disk  of 
the  sun  right  ahead  setting  in  the  waves,  which 
shone  in  all  the  colors  of  the  dying  dolphin  ; 
while  against  the  Haming  orb,  the  black  outhne 
of  the  masts,  the  figure-head,  and  the  taper  end 
of  the  jibboom,  with  its  cap,  guys,  and  gear,  were 
clearly  and  distinctly  defined. 

The  waves  ahead  rose  and  fell  between  me 
and  the  sun,  as  slowly  and  imperceptibly  he  sank 
at  the  flaming  horizon,  from  a  quarter  circle  to  a 
segment;  then  the  last  vestige  of  that  also  dis- 
appeared, but  the  lingering  rays  of  his  glory 
played  upward  on  the  light  clouds  that  floated 
above.  Even  they  paled  away  and  died  out,  and 
twilight  stole  over  the  silent  sea,  which  changed 
from  gold  to  a  transparent  blue. 

With  the  increasing  twilight  came  a  change 
of  wind,  and  before  it  a  great  bank  of  cloud  rolled 
from  the  horizon  on  our  starboard  bow.  Under 
its  shadow  the  sea  was  darkened,  and  its  broken 
water  flecked  with  white.  The  new  breeze  came 
first  upon  our  quarter,  then  rapidly  it  was  abeam, 


THE  REQUITAL.  20J 

and  three  great  albatrosses  were  seen  to  whip  the 
sea  with  their  wings,  while  a  whole  shoal  of 
brown  porpoises  surged  past  our  bows,  plunging 
joyously  from  wave  to  wave. 

Tacks  and  braces  were  instantly  manned,  and 
the  sails  were  trimmed  anew  for  our  desultory 
course. 

"Sail  ho  —  to  windward!"  said  one  of  the 
crew,  in  a  low  but  excited  voice,  lest  the  souiifl 
might  reach  the  cabin  ;  and  as  the  dense  bank 
of  purple  cloud  opened,  a  large  bark  came  out 
of  it,  and  her  form  became  more  and  more  de- 
fined as  she  left  the  vapor  astern.  She  was  going 
free  —  that  is,  with  her  head  further  off  the  wind 
than  close-hauled  —  and  had  a  press  of  snow- 
white  canvas,  which  shone  in  the  last  light  of 
the  west. 

"  She  is  four  mUes  off,"  said  Carlton. 

"  We  must  signal  her,"  added  Lambourne. 

"With  what?"  asked  Carlton,  in  the  same 
sharp  but  low  voice  ;  "  every  color  is  overboard." 

"  Any  thing  will  do  —  a  blue  shirt  at  the  fore- 
mast head ;  quick  I  —  the  sky  will  be  quite  dark 
in  ten  minutes.  Run  it  up  in  a  ball  with  a  slip- 
ping loop,  man-o'-Vv^ar  fashion,"  said  Lambourne 
in  a  loud  whisper ;  "  get  ready  a  ship's  lantern 
some  of  you,  for  the  night  darkens  so  fast  that 
we  shall  scarcely  be  visible  when  she  is  abeam 
of  us.  Ned,  get  into  the  fore-channel,  and  wave 
the  light  as  a  signal  that  we  want  a  boat." 


202  DICK  RODNEY. 

These  orders  were  rapidly  obeyed,  and  prep- 
arations made  to  throw  the  brig  in  the  wind. 
While  one  man  hastily  got  the  lantern  firom  a 
little  round  house,  in  which  certain  stores  and 
tools  were  kept  on  deck,  Ned  Carlton  pulled  off 
his  shirt,  and  was  in  the  act  of  binding  it  to  the 
signal  halyards,  when  the  Spaniard,  whose  quick 
ears  detected  some  commotion,  sprang  on  deck, 
armed  as  usual. 

On  seeing  Carlton  busy  wdth  the  halyards,  he 
looked  round,  caught  sight  of  the  ship,  which 
was  running  with  the  white  foam  boiling  under 
her  forefoot,  and  thus  in  a  moment  divined  what 
we  were  about. 

Muttering  a  terrible  imprecation  in  Spanish, 
he  fired  at  Carlton,  but  missed  him  as  before, 
and  shot  dead  a  poor  apprentice  who  was  close 

by. 

"'Tarnal  thunder,  flesh  and  blood  can't  bear 
this !  "  shouted  Tom  Lambourne,  whose  fury  was 
boundless,  and  who  snatched  up  a  capstan-bar. 
"  Bear  down  on  him  all  hands :  there  is  neither 
sea  law  nor  land  law  can  help  us  here ! " 

Snatching  whatever  came  nearest  to  hand,  we 
all  rushed  upon  the  Cubano,  who  stood  boldly 
at  bay,  and  i^eeping  the  binnacle  between  us  and 
him,  fired  over  it  five  or  six  shots  from  his  re- 
volver with  terrible  rapidity ;  but  so  unsteady  had 
his  hand  become  in  consequence  of  his  free  pota- 
tions below,  that  every  bullet  missed,  though  one 


THE   REQUITAL.  •        203 

cut  the  knuckles  of  Tom  Lambourne's  right  hand, 
and  another  tore  away  the  rim  of  my  straw  hat. 

He  drew  a  second  revolver  from  his  sash,  but 
Lambourne,  by  one  lucky  blow  with  the  capstan- 
bar,  knocked  it  out  of  his  hand.  It  went  twenty 
feet  into  the  air,  and  fell  overboard. 

Quick  as  lightning,  Antonio  placed  the  other 
in  his  breast,  drew  his  knife,  stooped  his  head, 
and  darting  through  us  like  an  eel,  gave  Carlton 
a  gash  in  the  thigh  as  he  passed. 

He  then  made  for  the  main-rigging,  and  sprang 
on  the  bulwark,  no  doubt  with  the  intention  of 
running  up  aloft  to  some  secure  perch,  where  he 
might  reload  his  remaining  pistol,  and  shoot  us 
all  down  at  leisure ;  but  he  missed  his  hold  of 
the  rattlins,  and  fell  overboard ! 

There  was  a  shout  of  furious  joy. 

"  The  sea  will  rob  the  gallows  of  its  due ! " 
said  Carlton;  "but  he'U  be  shark's  meat,  any 
way." 

But  Antonio  was  not  gone  yet,  for  in  falling 
he  caught  one  of  the  lower  studding-sail  booms, 
and  clutched  it  with  deadly  tenacity,  for  he  knew 
that  if  once  he  was  fairly  launched  into  the  ocean 
his  fate  would  be  sealed. 

His  face  was  pale  with  combined  fear  and 
fury ;  his  black  eyes  blazed  with  the  fire  of 
hatred  ;  the  perspiration  oozed  in  drops  upon  his 
temples.  Tom  Lambourne  sprang  forward  to 
beat  off  his  fingers;    but  at  that  moment,  the 


204  DICK   RODNEY. 

boom,  a  slender  spar,  broke  from  its  lashings 
alongside^  and  swung  out  at  a  right  angle  from 
the  brig,  with  the  wretch  at  the  extreme  end  of 
it,  dangling  over  the  waves,  like  a  herring  at  the 
point  of  a  ramrod. 

Again  and  again  he  writhed  his  body  upward 
in  wild  struggles  to  get  astride  the  boom,  or  to 
reach  it  with  his  knees,  but  in  vain  ! 

Instead  of  exciting  pity,  his  terrible  situation 
drew  forth  a  shout  of  derision,  mingled  with  ex- 
pressions of  hatred  and  satisfaction,  from  the, 
line  of  avenging  faces  that  surveyed  him  over 
the  bulwark.  He  hung  thus  for  fully  five  min- 
utes, for  he  was  a  powerful  man,  of  great 
strength,  muscle,  and  bulk. 

I  have  no  doubt  this  man  was  as  brave  as  it 
is  possible  for  a  ruffian  to  be  ;  but  the  prospect 
of  an  immediate  death  —  a  death,  too,  from 
which  there  was  no  escape  —  terrified  him. 

His  glance  of  hate  toward  us  tm-ned  to  one  of 
wild  and  earnest  entreaty. 

"  Mercy !  —  pardon  !  —  in  the  name  and  for  the 
love  of  the  Almighty  !  "  he  exclaimed  in  Span- 
ish, in  a  tone  of  intense  earnestness ;  but  he  was 
heard  by  us  with  fierce  derision  in  that  moment 
of  just  triumph  and  too  long  delayed  vengeance. 

Twi(;e  the  Eugenie  gave  a  lee  lurch,  and  each 
time  the  feet  and  kneec;  of  the  wretched  Cubano 
were  immersed  in  the  waves. 

Beneath  him  was   the   abyss  of  water  that 


THE   REQUITAL.  205 

rushed  past  the  side  of  the  brig.  He  panted 
rather  than  breathed  ;  and  through  the  dusk  we 
could  see  how  his  aching  hands  turned  white  as 
his  face  ;  and  that  the  points  of  his  fingers  were 
blood-red.  His  eyes  grew  wild  and  haggard  as 
terror  chilled  his  coward  heart  and  agonized  his 
soul;  and  yet  through  the  surge  the  fleet  craft 
flew  on  ! 

Every  moment  increased  the  weight  of  his 
body  and  the  weakness  of  his  hands  and  wrists. 

At  last  it  was  evident  that  his  powers  of  en- 
durance could  be  no  longer  taxed  ;  he  uttered  a 
half-smothered  slu-iek,  and  closed  his  eyes  as  he 
clung  to  that  slender  spar,  and  it  swayed  to  and 
fro  while  the  close-hauled  brig  flew  on ! 

There  was  a  crash  ! 

The  iron  hook  in  the  bulwark  on  which  the 
studding-sail  boom  was  hung,  gave  way  under 
the  double  weight  of  the  spar  and  of  his  body. 
There  was  a  shrill  cry  of  despair,  like  the  parting 
ohriek  of  an  evil  spirit,  on  the  skirt  of  the  gusty 
blast,  as  the  boom,  and  the  wretch  who  clung  to 
it  in  blind  desperation,  vanished  into  the  black 
trough  of  the  sea,  and,  like  a  cork  or  a  reed,  were 
swept  amid  the  salt  foam  to  leeward. 

The  Eugenie  rose  like  a  duck  upon  the  water, 
and,  as  if  fieed  at  that  moment  from  a  load  of 
crime,  seemed  to  fly  forward  with  increased  speed. 

'Twas  night  now,  and  the  ship  which  we  had 
first  seen   upon   our  weather  bow,  was  a  mile 
astern  and  to  leeward  of  us. 
18 


206  DICK   RODNEY. 


CHAPTER   XXVII. 

THE     THUNDERBOLT. 

An  emotion  of  mingled  freedom  and  satisfac- 
tion possessed  tlie  whole  crew  on  being  rid  of 
om-  tormentor,  and  Lambourne  now  took  charge 
of  the  brig,  which  he  was  perfectly  able  to  han- 
dle and  work,  though  ignorant  of  navigation  as 
a  science,  and  having  but  a  vague  idea  of  the 
course  to  steer  for  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope. 

She  was  hove  in  the  wind,  while  in  the  moon- 
light, about  two  hours  after  the  exciting  scene 
which  closes  the  last  chapter,  we  committed  to 
the  deep  the  body  of  Antonio's  last  victim,  the 
poor  apprentice,  whom  the  sailmaker  sewed  up 
in  his  hammock,  to  which,  being  without  shot 
or  other  suitable  weights,  we  tied  a  sack  of  coals 
to  sink  the  corpse. 

The  head-yards  were  filled  again,  and  as  if 
anxious  to  leave  that  portion  of  the  sea  as  far  as 
possible  astern,  we  hauled  up  for  the  Cape.  Tom 
Lambourne  ordered  every  slitch  of  canvas  that 
the  spars  would  hold,  to  be  spread  upon  the 
Eug'enie,  that  she  might,  as  he  said,  "  walk 
through  the  water  in  her  own  style. 


THE   THUNDERBOLT.  207 

All  he  could  do,  at  first,  was  to  keep  her  in  the 
course  we  had  been  steering  on  the  night  these 
disasters  began,  for  as  yet  we  knew  not  to  what 
degree  of  latitude,  south  or  north,  we  might 
have  been  drifting ;  however,  we  calculated  thai 
Hislop,  weak  as  he  was,  might  be  able  to  take  a 
solar  observation,  and  prick  off  our  place  on  the 
chart,  in  the  course  of  six  or  seven  days. 

We  had  the  usually  snug  little  cabin  cleansed 
and  cleared  from  the  debris  created  by  the  out- 
rageous proceedings  of  Antonio,  who  must  have 
gone  to  the  bottom  with  all  Weston's  valuables 
and  money  about  him,  as  we  could  find  neither  ; 
and  the  sweet  expression  of  the  poor  widow's 
face,  as  it  seemed  to  smile  on  us  from  the  minia- 
ture on  the  after-bulkhead,  contrasted  strangely 
with  all  the  wild  work  that  had  so  lately  taken 
place  on  board. 

Hislop  and  I  were  restored  to  our  former 
berths,  and  then  more  than  once  in  my  dreams 
the  pale  ohve-green  visage  and  glaring  eyes  of 
the  Cubano  came  before  me,  and  again  I  seemed 
to  see  him  clinging  unpitied,  and  in  desperation, 
to  the  slender  boom  which  swung  above  the 
seething  sea,  —  for  his  death  and  all  its  concom- 
itant horrors  haunted  me  and  made  me  unhappy. 

The  intensity  of  the  heat  in  that  season  sug- 
gested the  idea  that  we  could  not  have  drifted 
far  south  of  the  line. 
I      So  great  was  it,  that  tht   upper  spars  of  the 


208  DICK   RODNEY. 

£hig-enie  appeared  to  wriggle  or  vibrate  like  ser- 
j)ents  aloft  in  the  sunshine ;  while  so  hot,  so 
clear,  and  so  rarefied  was  the  atmosphere  be- 
tween decks,  that  it  was  suffocating,  especially 
in  the  lullings  of  the  faint  breeze.  A  white  heat 
seemed  to  make  sea  and  sky  grow  pale,  and  the 
former  cast  upward  a  reflection  from  its  glassy 
surface  and  long  smooth  swells,  that  was  hot, — - 
hot  beyond  all  description. 

Though  ever  and  anon  the.  upper  deck  was 
drenched  with  salt  water,  it  dried  immediately, 
emitting  a  strong  odor  of  wet  wood,  while  the 
skids  over  the  side  failed  to  keep  the  paint,  tar, 
and  rosin  from  rising  in  large  burnt  blisters. 

About  the  time  when  we  hoped  that  Hislop 
would  have  been  well  enough  to  make  an  obser- 
vation, even  by  being  placed  in  a  chair  on  deck, 
the  weather  became  so  rough  that  he  was  unable 
to  leave  his  berth,  and  during  all  that  day  the 
brig  drove  before  a  heavy  gale,  with  her  courses 
hauled  close  up,  the  fore  and  main-topsail  yards 
lowered  on  the  caps,  and  their  canvas  close 
reefed. 

After  the  heat  we  had  endured,  the  reader  may 
imagine  this  gale  would  be  refreshing  and  a  re- 
lief. Not  so.  The  atmosphere,  as  it  became 
dark  with  gathering  clouds,  increased  in  density, 
closeness,  and  heat ;  thus  about  the  time  we 
should  have  had  clear  twilight,  the  hour  was 
gloomy  as  a  northern  midnight,  —  so  dark  that 


THE   THUNDERBOLT.  209 

the  men  in  the  tops,  or  those  lying  out  along  the 
foot-ropes  at  the  yard-arms,  when  under  close- 
reefed  topsails,  could  not  be  seen  from  the  deck, 
while  the  breeze  that  swept  over  the  ocean  was 
breathless,  —  hot  as  the  simoom  of  the  desert ; 
and  our  men  knew  not  whether  they  were  most 
drenched  by  perspiration  or  the  spoondrift  torn 
from  the  warm  wave  tops  by  the  increasing  blast. 

The  peculiar  appearance  of  this  black  gale 
alarmed  and  bewildered  Tattooed  Tom,  who 
could  make  nothing  of  it,  while  poor  Marc  His- 
lop,  whose  skill  would  have  been  invaluable  to 
us,  when  he  heard  the  singing  out  on  deck,  the 
thunder  of  the  bellying  courses  struggling  wnth 
their  brails,  the  roar  of  the  wind  through  the  half- 
bared  masts  and  rigging,  the  clatter  of  blocks 
and  feet  overhead,  writhed  in  his  bed,  and 
mourned  his  own  inactivity,  or  rather  incapaci- 
ty ;  but  he  sent  me  to  tell  Lambourne  to  cover 
up  the  anchors  with  wetted  canvas,  as  it  was  not 
improbable,  by  the  state  of  the  atmosphere,  that 
it  was  full  of  electricity,  and  thus  we  might  be 
in  a  dangerous  way. 

"  Tell  Tom,"  he  whispered,  "it  is  a  trade-wind 
gale,  —  I  know  it  to  be  so." 

"  How  ?  "  I  asked,  "  when  you  are  lying  here 
below." 

"By  the  barometer,  which  remains  high,  while 
the  wind  is  steady,"  replied  Hislop  in  a  low 
voice,  for  he  was  still  very  weak  ;  "  if  the  barom- 


2ir  DICK  RODNEY. 

eter  fall^  be  sure  it  will  become  a  typhoon,  and 
then,  with  a  short-handed  craft,  heaven  help  us ! 
But  assure  Tom  it  is  only  as  yet  a  trade-wind 
gale,  —  to  take  as  much  canvas  off  her  as  he  can, 
and  to  make  all  snug  aloft.  We'U  have  thunder 
directly,  Dick,  —  such  thunder  as  you  can  only 
hear  in  the  tropics." 

He  sank  back,  exhausted  even  by  these  few 
words,  while  I  hurried  on  deck  with  his  orders. 

I  had  scarcely  conveyed  them  to  Lambourne, 
who  was  keeping  a  look-out  forward,  when, 
amid  the  dusky  obscurity  of  sea  and  sky,  there 
burst  a  sudden  gleam  of  wondrous  light. 

The  men,  who  were  spreading  some  old  wet- 
ted sails  over  the  sheet  and  working  anchors ; 
the  steersman  at  the  wheel ;  the  watch,  and  all 
hands  who  were  crouching  to  leeward,  or  holding 
on  by  ropes  and  belaying-pins  to  windward, 
seemed  for  a  moment  to  become  white-visaged 
spectres,  amid  a  sea  of  pale-blue  flame,  —  a  sea 
whereon  the  flying  brig  with  her  brailed  courses 
and  reefed  topsails,  her  half  naked  masts  and 
black  cordage,  were  aU  distinctly  visible  as  at 
noonday,  while  the  polished  brass  on  funnel, 
binnacle,  and  skylight,  all  flashed  and  shone,  as 
ship  and  crew,  with  all  their  details  of  form  and 
feature, 

"  Were  instant  seen  and  instant  lost." 

For  a  broad  and  blinding  sheet  of  electric  flame 


THE    THUNDERBOLT.  211 

burst  upon  the  darkness  of  the  night,  and  passed 
away  as  rapidly,  when  the  livid  brand  burst  in 
the  welkin  or  in  the  wave,  we  knew  not  which. 

Then  came  the  roar  of  thunder  —  the  stunning 
and  appalling  thunder  of  the  tropics,  every  ex- 
plosion of  which  seemed  to  rend  earth,  sea,  and 
sky,  as  they  rolled  like  a  palpable  thing,  or  like 
the  united  salvo  of  a  thousand  cannon  overhead, 
to  die  away  in  rumbUng  echoes  at  the  far  horizon. 

After  a  sound  so  mighty  and  bewildering,  the 
bellowing  of  the  wind  through  the  rigging,  the 
hiss  and  roar  of  the  sea  as  wave  broke  against 
wave,  the  flapping  of  the  brailed  courses,  the 
creaking  and  straining  of  the  timbers,  seemed  as 
nothing  —  the  very  silence  of  death  —  while  the 
Eugenie  tore  on,  through  mist  and  spray,  through 
darkness  and  obscm-ity,  with  the  foam  flying 
white  as  winter  drift  over  her  bows  and  martin- 
gale. 

Again  there  was  a  pale-green  gleam  overhead, 
right  above  the  truck  of  the  mainmast,  where  the 
chambers  of  the  sky  seemed  to  open.  The  clouds 
divided  in  the  darkness  of  heaven,  and  out  of 
that  opening  came  the  forked  lightning,  zigzag, 
green,  and  ghastly. 

There  was  a  dreadful  shock,  which  knocked 
every  man  down,  except  Carlton,  who  was  at  the 
wheel,  and  an  exclamation  of  terror  escaped  us 
all. 

A  thunderbolt  had  struck  the  Eas-enie  ! 


212  DICK   RODNEY. 

With  all  its  wondrous  speed  —  instantaneous 
as  electric  light  could  be  —  it  glided  down  the 
maintop  gallant  mast,  rending  the  topmast-cap 
and  the  framed  grating  of  the  top  to  pieces; 
thence  it  ran  down  the  mainmast,  burst  through 
the  deck,  and  spent  its  fury  in  the  hold. 

At  that  moment  the  main-topmast,  with  all  its 
yards,  gear,  and  canvas,  fell  about  the  deck  in 
burning  brands,  and  the  brig  was  hove  right  in 
the  wind's  eye,  while  the  sea  twitched  the  helm 
out  of  the  hands  of  Ned  Carlton,  who  became 
bewildered  on  finding  the  compasses  lose  all  their 
polarity,  by  the  influence  of  the  electric  fluid,  the 
north  point  of  one  heading  south-east,  and  of  the 
other  south-west. 

Almost  immediately  after  this  there  was  a  cry 
of  "  Fire  I  "  —  that  cry  so  temble,  so  appalling  on 
board  ship;  and  then  thick  white  smoke  was 
seen  to  issue  from  the  crevices  of  the  battened 
main-hatchway. 

All  hands  rushed  to  this  point.  The  long-boat 
was  unshipped  from  its  chocks  and  dragged  aft; 
some  stood  by  with  buckets  of  water,  while  others 
struck  off  the  padlocks  and  iron  bars ;  the  tarpau- 
lin was  torn  away  — the  hatch  lifted  —  and  lo  I 

A  column  of  fire  ascended  in  a  straight  fine 
from  the  body  of  the  hold,  lurid,  red,  and  scorch- 
ing, as  the  casks  of  molasses  and  bales  of  cotton 
Durned  and  blazed  together.  A  column  that  rose 
up  between  the  masts,  scorched  through  the  main- 


THE    THUNDEREOLT.  213 

stay,  all  the  braces  of  the  fore  yards,  and  filled 
the  whole  vessel  with  light,  announced  that  all 
was  over! 

"  It  is  a  doomed  ship ! "  cried  Tom  Lambourne; 
"  we  must  leave  her  at  last.  Clear  away  the 
longboat.  Be  cool,  lads ;  be  cool  and  steady ' 
Your  lives  depend  upon  your  conduct  now,  and 
your  obedience  to  orders  ! " 


214  DICK   RODNEY. 


CHAPTER    XXVIII. 

CAST   AWAY. 

Not  a  moment  was  lost  in  getting  the  long- 
boat over  the  side,  and  with  a  heavy  splash,  by 
which  it  was  nearly  swamped,  we  got  it  afloat. 

Ned  Carlton  and  Probart  the  carpenter  sprang 
in,  to  fend  off  and  keep  it  from  being  stove  or 
dashed  to  pieces  by  the  sea,  against  the  brig's  side. 

By  the  wild  weird  glare  that  rose  in  frightful 
columns  from  the  main  and  fore  hatchways,  we 
had  plenty  of  hght,  as  it  shone  far  over  the  huge 
billows  of  that  dark  and  tempestuous  sea,  to 
which  we  were  about  to  commit  our  fortunes ; 
and  now  a  pale  and  half-dressed  figure  approached 
us. 

It  was  Marc  Hislop,  whom  the  terrible  odor 
had  roused  from  his  berth  in  the  cabin ;  and  he 
now  came  forward,  supporting  his  feeble  steps 
by  clutching  the  shrouds  and  belay  ing-pins. 

I  rushed  below  and  brought  up  a  blanket  and 
great  coat  to  wrap  him  in,  and  he  was  promptly 
swung  over  into  the  boat,  where  Carlton  received 
and  supported  him. 

Three  bags  of  bread,  with  a  tarpaulin  to  cover 
them,  two  kegs  of  rum,  four  casks  of  water,  with 


CAST  AWAT.  215 

oars,  sails,  and  blankets,  were  thrown  pell-mell 
into  the  boat.  A  hatchet  and  a  bundle  of  spun- 
yarn  completed  our  stores. 

The  compasses  were  considered  now  to  be  use- 
ess,  or  were  omitted,  I  forget  which. 

The  wind  still  amounted  to  a  gflte,  though  less 
violent,  and  it  fanned  the  growing  flames,  so  that 
the  fated  brig  burned  fast.  The  lightning  still 
flashed,  but  at  the  horizon,  and  the  thunder  was 
heard  to  grumble  above  the  hiss  of  the  sea ;  yet 
we  heeded  them  not,  though  they  added  to  the 
terror  and  the  grandeur  of  the  scene  ;  and,  most 
providentially  for  us,  the  fury  of  the  storm  was 
past. 

Tattooed  Tom  was  the  last  man  who  left  the 
brig,  and  the  moment  he  was  in  the  boat,  he 
exclaimed,  with  a  loud  voice,  that  rang  above 
the  roaring  of  the  flames,  which  now  gushed 
through  every  hatchway  and  aperture,  above  the 
howling  of  the  wind  and  the  breaking  of  the 
frothy  sea,  — 

"  Shove  off* !  —  out  oars,  there,  to  starboard  — 
pull  round  her  stern  —  pull  with  a  will  to  wind- 
ward —  keep  the  boat's  bow  to  th^  break  of  the 
sea  I  " 

We  pulled  .silently  and  vigorously,  and  soon 
got  clear  of  the  brig,  through  the  four  stern  win- 
dows of  which  four  Hues  of  light  glared  redly  on 
the  ocean. 

All  our  strength  was  required  to  achieve  this, 
for  the  brig,  being  the  larger  body,  attracted  th^ 


216  DICK   RODNEY. 

boat  toward  her.  However,  we  got  safely  to 
windward,  which  was  absolutely  necessary,  for 
to  leeward  there  fell  hissing  into  the  sea  a  tor- 
rent of  sparks  and  burning  brands  from  the  rig- 
ging, which  was  all  in  flames  now. 

Resting  upon  our  oars,  or  only  using  them  to 
keep  the  boat's  head  to  the  break  of  the  sea,  and 
to  prevent  her  being  swamped  —  an  operation 
during  which  they  were  as  often  flourished  in  the 
air  as  in  the  ocean,  when  we  rose  on  the  crest 
of  one  vast  heaving  wave,  or  sank  into  the  dark 
vale  of  water  between  two  —  resting  thus,  we 
gazed  in  silence  and  with  aching  hearts  at  the 
destruction  of  our  home  upon  the  sea. 

We  could  feel  the  heat  of  the  conflagration 
even  to  windward.  In  a  quarter  of  an  hour  she 
was  enveloped  from  stem  to  stern  in  a  sheet  of 
fire,  that  rose  skyward  in  the  form  of  a  pyramid. 
By  this  time  every  vestige  of  her  spars,  sails,  and 
rigging  had  disappeared. 

The  entire  deck  had  been  consumed  ;  the  bul- 
warks and  moulded  plank-sheer  rapidly  followed, 
and  through  the  flames  that  roared  fiercely  from 
the  hollow  of  her  hull,  we  could  see  the  black 
timberheads  standing  upward  like  a  row  of  fangs. 

Rents  appeared  next  in  her  sides,  as  the  flames 
burst  through  the  inner  and  outer  sheathing,  and 
with  a  hissing  sound  as  they  met  the  waves  of 
the  briny  sea.  Then  a  salt  steam  rose,  and  it« 
strange  odor,  with  that  of  the  burning  wood,  was 
wafted  at  times  toward  us. 


CAST    AWAY  217 

At  last  she  gave  a  sudden  heel  to  starboard, 
and  with  a  sound  unlike  any  thing  I  ever  heard 
before  —  a  deluge  of  water  extinguishing  a 
mighty  fire  —  the  waves  rushed  tumultuously  in 
on  all  sides.  She  vanished  from  our  sight  in 
mist  and  obscurity,  and  a  heavy  darkness  sud- 
denly replaced  the  glare  that  for  a  time  had  lit 
up  the  heaving  sea,  dazzling  our  eyes  and  sick- 
ening our  hearts. 

"  AU's  over  now,"  said  Tom  Lambourne,  as  he 
grasped  the  tiller  with  a  firm  hand,  after  carefully 
wrapping  a  blanket  round  poor  Hislop,  who 
drooped  beside  him  in  the  stern-sheets. 

"  Which  way  shall  we  puU  ?  "  asked  the  bow- 
man, as  we  paused  with  our  oars  in  the  rowloci^s. 

"  It  matters  little,  mates,"  cried  Tom,  in  a  loud 
voice,  with  his  left  hand  at  the  side  of  his  mouth, 
to  send  what  he  said  forward  above  the  roar  of 
the  wind  and  sea.  "  We  must  be  many  hundred 
miles  from  Brazil,  the  nearest  land,  and  we  can 
do  nothing  now  but  keep  our  boat  alive  by  bal- 
ing and  steering  till  daybreak.  Now,  Master 
Hislop,"  he  added,  lowering  his  voice,  "  how  do 
you  feel,  sir  ?  " 

"  I  feel  that  I  am  quite  in  your  way,  my  lads 
—  a  useless  hand  aboard,  to  consume  your  food 
and  water,  replied  Hislop,  faintly. 

"  Why,  sir,"  said  Probnrt,  the  stroke-oarsman, 
"  you  don't  think  we  could  have  left  you  to  burn 
in  the  poor  old  brig  ?  " 

19 


218  DICK   RODNEY. 

"  No,  not  exactly ;  still,  I  am  of  no  use  to  yoU; 
and  I  feel " 

"  What,  sir,  what  ?  "  asked  Tom,  anxiously. 

"  Heart  sick  and  despairing,"  moaned  Hislop 
letting  his  chin  drop  on  his  breast. 

"  Don't  talk  so,  sir,"  said  Lambourne,  stoutly ; 
"  despair  never  found  a  place  in  the  heart  of  a 
British  sailor !  " 

"  You  are  right,  Tom  ;  and  perhaps  I'll  gather 
headway,  and  get  to  windward  yet." 

"  Of  course  you  will,"  replied  Tom,  cheerfully ; 
"but  here's  a  sea  coming  —  together,  lads  — 
pull  together ! " 

Despair  might  well  have  found  a  place  in  all 
our  breasts  at  that  awful  crisis  ;  but  Tom's  bluff 
and  cheerful  way  prevented  our  hearts  from 
sinicing,  though  the  hours  of  that  awful  night 
seemed  dark  and  long. 

Well,  without  compass,  chart,  or  quadrant, 
there  we  were,  ten  in  number,  in  an  open  boat, 
tossing  upon  a  dark  and  stormy  sea,  enveloped 
in  clouds,  with  the  red  lightning  gleaming 
through  their  ragged  openings,  or  at  the  far  and 
flat  horizon  —  ignorant  of  where  we  were,  where 
to  steer  for,  or  what  to  do,  and  full  of  terrible 
anticipations  for  the  future  I 

We  w^ere  silent  and  sleepless. 

My-  heart  was  full  of  horror,  grief,  and  vague 
alarm,  when  I  thought  of  my  home  —  the  quiet, 
the  happy,  and   peaceful  old    Rectory,  with  all 


CAST   AWAY.  219 

who  loved  me  there,  and  whom  I  might  never 
see  again. 

The  hot  tears  that  started  to  my  eyes  mingled 
with  the  cold  spray  that  drenched  my  cheeks, 
and  there  seemed  but  one  consolation  for  me, 
that  my  father,  my  affectionate  and  gentle 
mother  and  sisters,  dear  Dot  and  little  Sybil, 
could  never  know  all  I  had  endured,  or  how  I 
perished  by  hunger  or  drowning,  if  such  were  to 
be  my  fate. 

All  the  stories  I  had  heard  or  read  of  ship- 
wrecked men  —  their  sufferings,  their  endurance 
of  gnawing  hunger  and  burning  thirst,  their  can- 
nibalism, their  mortal  struggles  with  their  dear- 
est friends  for  the  last  morsel  of  food,  for  the  last 
drop  of  water,  and  how  the  weak  perished  that 
the  strong  might  live  —  crowded  upon  my  mem- 
ory to  augment  the  real  terrors  of  our  situation. 

So  suddenly  had  this  final  catastrophe  come 
upon  us  that  we  had  considerable  difficulty  in 
assuring  ourselves  of  its  reality,  and  that  it  was 
not  a  dream  —  a  dream,  alas !  from  which  there 
might  be  no  awaking. 

So  hour  after  hour  passed  darkly,  slowly,  and 
silently  on. 

The  turbulence  of  the  wind  and  waves  abated, 
the  lightning  passed  away,  the  scud  ceased  to 
whirl,  the  vapors  were  divided  in  heaven,  and  a 
faint  light  that  stole  tremulously  upward  from 
the  horizon  served  to  indicate  the  east  and  the 
dawn  of  the  coming  day. 


220  DICK   RODNEY. 


CHAPTER   XXIX. 

DISCOVER   LAND. 

The  following  are  the  names  of  those  who 
escaped  with  me  in  the  longboat : 

Marc  Hislop,  mate,  Edward  Carlton, 

Thomas     Lambom-ne,  Henry  Warren, 

second  mate,  Hugh  Chute, 

Francis    Probart,    car-  Matthew  Hipkin, 

penter,  WiUiam  "Wilkins,  usu- 

John  Thomas  Burnett,  ally     called     "Boy 

ship's  cook.  Bill." 

As  the  morning  light  came  in,  there  appeared 
to  the  south-westward  a  vast  bank  of  mist  or 
cloud  which  shrouded  half  the  sky,  and  assumed 
a  variety  of  beautiful  tints  when  the  rising  sun 
shone  on  it  —  yellow  and  saffron,  deepening  into 
purple  and  blue  as  its  masses  changed  in  the 
contrary  currents  of  air ;  while  to  the  eastward, 
in  the  quarter  of  the  sun's  ascension,  the  rippling 
ocean  shone  as  if  covered  with  tremulous  and 
glittering  plates  of  mingled  gold  and  green. 


DISCOVER   LAND.  221 

A  ration  of  rura-and-water  in  equal  propor- 
tions was  now  served  round  to  each  man  —  the 
leathern  cover  of  a  bung  being  our  only  cup,  as 
we  had  omitted  a  drinking  vessel  among  our 
hastily-collected  stores.  Half  of  a  biscuit  given 
to  each  constituted  our  breakfast,  and  with  hope 
dawning  with  the  day  in  our  hearts,  we  shipped 
our  oars  and  pulled  stoutly  toward  the  west. 

Tom  Lambourne  steered  :  the  sea  was  smooth, 
the  wind  light,  and  in  our  favor ;  so  ere  long  the 
mast  was  shipped,  and  a  sail  hoisted  to  lessen 
the  labor  of  the  rowers. 

We  were  anxious  for  the  dense  bank  of  purple 
cloud  to  clear  away,  that  we  might  have  a  more 
extensive  view  of  the  horizon,  and  perhaps  dis- 
cover a  sail,  but  the  envious  vapor  seemed  to 
darken  and  to  roll  before  us,  or  rather  before  the 
wind  that  bore  us  after  it. 

About  mid-day,  when  we  were  pausing  on  our 
oars,  breathless  and  panting  with  heat,  drenched 
with  perspkation,  which  ran  into  our  eyes  and 
trickled  down  our  breasts ;  and  when  visions  of 
iced  water  and  bitter  beer  came  tantalizingly  to 
memory  —  for  sea  and  sky  were  equally  hot,  as 
the  former  seemed  to  welter  and  become  oily 
under  the  blaze  of  the  latter  —  a  sharp-winged 
bird  that  skimmed  past  us  suddenly  caught  the 
hollow  eye  of  Hislop,  who,  I  thought,  was  sleep- 
ing. 

"  Do  you  see  that  bird,  Tom,"  he  exclaimed, 

19* 


'222  DICK   RODNEY. 

half  starting  up  from  the  stern-sheets ;  it  is  a 
man-of-war  bird !  " 

"  What  then,  sir  ?  " 

"  "We  must  be  near  land,"  replied  the  mate. 

"  Land ! "  reiterated  every  one  in  the  boat, 
their  voices  expressing  joy,  surprise,  or  incredu- 
lity. 

"  Is  it  Brazil  ?  "  asked  Tattooed  Tom,  vi^ith 
amazement  in  his  singular  face. 

"  I  do  not  think  so,"  said  Hislop,  passing  a 
hand  wearily  and  reflectively  over  his  pale  fore- 
head. "  Brazil  —  it  is  impossible,  by  the  last 
reckoning  I  made  before  that  Spaniard  wounded 
me.  But  Heaven  only  knows  where  we  may 
have  drifted  to  since  then !  " 

"  The  wind  and  currents  may  have  taken  us 
many  hundred  miles  from  where  the  last  obser- 
vation was  made,"  added  Carlton. 

"  But  I  am  convinced  that  we  are  near  land 
—  look  at  the  sea- wrack  that  passes  us  now; 
and  we  must  be  out  of  the  track  of  the  Gulf- 
weed,"  continued  the  mate  with  confidence. 

"  And  may  I  never  see  the  Nore  again,  if  that 
ain't  land  now,  looming  right  a-head  through  the 
fog-bank ! "  exclaimed  Tom,  starting  up,  and 
shading  his  eyes  from  the  sun  with  both  hands 
as  he  peered  intently  westward. 

As  the  reader  may  imagine,  we  all  gazed  anx- 
iously enough  in  the  direction  indicated  by  the 
old  seaman,  and  a  swell  of  rapture  rose  in  the 


DISCOVER   LAND.  223 

breasts  of  all  when  something  in  the  form  of  a 
headland  or  bluff  could  be  distinctly  seen  right 
ahead,  bearing  due  west,  about  seven  miles  dis- 
tant, standing  out  from  the  bank  of  vapor,  or 
looming  like  a  darker  shadow  within  it. 

This  appearance  never  changed  in  outline,  but 
remained  stationary,  and  every  moment  became 
more  defined  and  confirmed. 

Exclamations  of  joy  now  broke  from  us,  and 
we  congratulated  each  other  on  making  the  land 
so  soon  and  so  unexpectedly,  without  enduring 
the  miseries  which  so  frequently  fall  to  the  lot 
of  those  who  are  cast  away,  as  we  were,  in  an 
open  boat  at  sea. 

"  But  what  land  is  it  ?  "  was  the  general  in- 
quky. 

Another  allowance  of  grog  was  served  round ; 
the  oars  were  again  shipped,  we  bent  om*  backs 
and  breasts  sturdily  to  the  task,  and  at  every 
stroke  almost  lifted  the  boat  clean  out  of  the 
shining  water  in  our  eagerness  to  reach  this  sud- 
denly discovered  shore. 

This  had  such  an  effect  upon  Marc  Hislop,  that 
though  weak  and  sinking  as  he  had  been,  he  begged 
that  he  might  be  allowed  to  steer  the  boat  a  little 
way,  while  Tom  Lambourne  kept  a  bright  look-out 
ahead,  to  watch  for  any  ripple  or  surf  that  might 
indicate  the  locality  of  a  treacherous  coral  reef,  aa 
such  might  prove  dangerous  to  a  large  and  heavily 
laden  craft  like  ours. 


224  DICK   RODNEY. 

With  every  stroke  of  the  bending  oars  the 
land  seemed  to  rise  higher  and  more  high. 

Ere  long  we  could  make  out  its  form  clearly. 
It  was  bold,  rocKy,  and  mountainous,  and  as 
the  mist  dispersed  or  rose  upward  into  mid  air, 
we  could  see  the  dark  brown  of  the  bluff,  and 
some  trees  of  strange  aspect,  with  drooping  foli- 
age on  its  summit,  were  clearly  defined,  as  they 
stood  between  us  and  the  blue  sky  beyond. 

We  soon  made  out  distinctly  that  it  was  a 
large  island.  The  shore  was  somewhat  level  to 
the  north-east,  and  in  the  centre  towered  an  al- 
most perpendicular  mountain  of  vast  height,  the 
sides  of  which  seemed  covered  with  furze,  gorse, 
and  brushwood. 

Elsewhere  its  dusky  and  copper-colored  rocks 
started  sheer  out  of  the  sea,  whose  waters 
formed  a  zone  of  snow-white  surf  around  their 
base. 

We  headed  the  boat  to  the  north-east,  where 
the  shore  seemed  more  approachable,  and  as  we 
pulled  along  it,  but  keeping  fully  three  miles  off, 
when  the  land  opened,  we  saw  high  crags,  deep 
ravines,  shady  woods  and  dells  in  the  interior, 
though  no  appearance  of  houses,  of  wigwams,  or 
of  inhabitants. 

Many  speculations  were  now  ventured  as  to 
what  island  this  might  be. 

"  May  it  not  be  land  that  has  never  before 
been  discovered?"  I  suggested  with  a  glow  of 


DISCOVER  LAND.  225 

pleasure,  in  the  anticipation  of  being  among  the 
first  to  tread  an  unexplored  and  hitherto  un- 
known shore.  Hislop  smiled  and  shook  his 
head. 

Henry  Warren,  who  had  been  an  old  South- 
sea  whaler,  suggested  that  it  was  the  island 
Grando,  but  Hislop  assured  us  that  this  was  im- 
possible. In  the  first  place,  by  the  position  of 
the  sun,  he  could  see  that  we  were  not  so  far 
south  as  the  parallel  of  Port  San  Giorgio  on  the 
Brazilian  shore ;  and  in  the  second,  the  exis- 
tence of  such  an  island  was  doubted. 

"  Can  it  be  Trinidad  Island  —  Tristan  da 
Cunha,  or  the  Rocks  of  Martin  Vaz  ? "  asked 
Tom  Lambourne. 

"  If  the  latter,"  replied  Hislop,  "  we  should 
now  be  in  south  latitude  20^  27',  but  this  land 
in  no  way  answers  to  the  aspect  of  the  Martin 
Vaz  Rocks." 

"  Did  you  ever  see  them,  sir  ?  "  asked  several. 

"  No  ;  but  they  are  described  by  La  Perouse 
as  appearing  like  Jive  distinct  headlands."  After 
pausing  and  pondering  for  a  moment,  he  sud- 
denly added,  with  confidence,  "  It  is  the  Island 
of  Alphonso  de  Albuquerque !  " 

'»  How  do  you  know  ?  "  I  inquired. 

"  By  the  appearance  of  that  cliff,  and  tl  e 
mountain  inland." 

"  You  have  been  here  before  ?  "  asked  Probart. 

"  Never ;  but  I  know  it  to  be  Alphonso  by  that 


226  DICK   RODNEY. 

cliff  on  the  north,  and  the  mountain  too,  which 
were  particularly  described  in  a  Spanish  book  I 
lost  in  the  Eugenie.  The  mountain  is  a  peak 
which  the  author  says  resembles  —  did  any  of 
you  ever  see  a  place  like  it  before  ?  " 

"  It  is  as  like  Tenny  Reef  from  the  port  of 
Santa  Cruz,  as  one  egg  is  like  another ! "  ex- 
claimed Tom  Lambourne. 

"  Exactly,  Tom,  that  is  what  the  Spanish 
author  likens  it  to,  though  he  does  not  use  the 
simile.  So  if  it  is  the  island  of  Alphonso,  we 
are  now  somewhere  in  south  latitude  37^^  6',  and 
west  longitude  12°  2'.  Pull  southward,  my 
lads,  the  shore  opens  a  bit  beyond  that  headland. 
"We  shall  find  a  smooth  beach  probably  within 
the  bight  yonder." 

"  Anyway  we're  not  in  pilot's  water,"  added 
Tom,  laughing ;  "  give  way,  mates  —  stretch 
out." 

We  pulled  with  a  hearty  will,  and  ere  long 
were  close  in  shore  —  so  close  that  our  larboard 
oars  seemed  almost  to  touch  the  rocks  which 
rose  sheer  from  the  sea,  like  mighty  Cyclopean 
walls,  but  covered  with  the  greenest  moss ;  they 
overhung  ani  overshadowed  the  dark,  deep  water 
Hhat  washed  their  base,  and  as  they  shielded  us 
from  the  fierce  noonday  heat  of  the  sun,  we 
found  the  partial  coolness  refreshing  and  delight- 
ful. 

As  Hislop  had  foreseen,  on  rounding  the  bluff, 


DISCOVER   LAND.  227 

the  shore  receded  inward,  and  through  a  line  of 
white  surf,  like  that  which  boils  over  the  bar  at 
a  river's  mouth,  we  dashed  into  a  beautiful  little 
bay,  the  sandy  beach  of  which  was  shaded  bv 
groves  of  bright  green  trees. 

Still  we  saw  no  trace  of  inhabitants ;  but  se- 
lecting a  small  creek  which  was  almost  con- 
cealed by  trees  that  grew,  like  mangroves,  close 
to  the  edge  of  the  water,  we  ran  our  boat  in, 
moored  her  securely,  where  none  were  likely  to 
find  her  save  ourselves,  and  then  aU  sprang  joy- 
ously ashore  —  at  least  all  save  Hislop  and  Billy 
the  cabin  boy,  who  remained  to  attend  him, 
while  we  went  on  an  exploring  expedition  in 
search  of  natives  or  whatever  might  turn  up 
next. 


25i8  DICK  RODNEY. 


CHAPTER  XXX. 

THE    ISLAND    OF    ALPHONSO. 

We  had  some  dread  of  savages,  and  being 
totally  unarmed,  we  penetrated  inland  with 
more  anxiety  than  pleasure  at  first ;  but  ere  long 
we  became  convinced  that  the  island  was  totally 
destitute  of  human  inhabitants. 

No  vestige  of  wigwam  or  hut,  of  road  or  path, 
nor  even  of  the  smallest  track  or  trail  (save  such 
as  the  wild  goats  made)  was  visible  anywhere, 
and  thus  we  became  impressed  with  new  emo- 
tions of  wonder  and  awe,  in  treading  a  soil 
where  man  lived  not  —  where  no  human  foot 
seemed  to  have  trod,  and  where  only  the  hum  of 
insect  life  stirred  the  solitude  of  that  wild  island 
of  the  South  Atlantic. 

For  a  considerable  distance  we  traversed  flat 
ground  that  was  covered  with  sedge  grass,  inter- 
spersed by  shrubs  of  bright  green.  Beyond  this 
level  plain  rose  a  series  of  ridges  covered  by 
trees,  and  those  ridges  formed  the  first  slope  of 
the  great  mountain,  which  was  some  thousand 
feet  in  height,  and  also  of  the  great  bluff  we  had 
first  descried  at  sea. 


THE   ISLAND    OF   ALPHONSO.  229 

We  found  Alphonso  to  be  the  largest  of  a 
gioup  of  three  islands.  It  is  a  mass  of  rock 
nearly  twelve  miles  in  circumference.  The  other 
two  are  cavernous  and  inaccessible,  and  every 
approach  to  them  is  dangerous  and  difficult,  in 
consequence  of  the  foaming  of  the  sea  about 
them,  so  that  during  the  weary  days  of  our 
sojourn  there,  we  made  no  attempt  to  explore 
them,  lest  the  longboat  —  in  our  circumstances  a 
priceless  property  —  might  be  swamped  or  dashed 
to  pieces. 

Hislop  informed  me  that  he  had  read  some- 
where that  in  the  month  of  March,  1506  — 
the  same  year  in  wliich  the  great  Columbus 
died  —  two  adventurers  of  Spain  or  Portugal, 
named  Tristan  da  Cunha  and  Alphonso  de 
Albuquerque,  sailed  for  the  Indies  on  a  voyage 
of  discovery,  with  fourteen  great  caravels. 

During  this  expedition  they  found  three  great 
islands  which  they  named  after  Tristan  da 
Cunha,  and  elsewhere  three  others,  which  were 
named  from  Alphonso,  who,  after  their  fleet  had 
been  scattered  by  a  great  tempest,  sailed  throxigh 
the  Mozambique  channel.  He  discovered  many 
Beas,  isles,  and  channels  hitherto  unknown  to  the 
Portuguese  or  Spaniards,  and  ultimately  reached 
the  Indies,  of  which  he  became  viceroy  for  Fer- 
dinand the  Catholic,  and  died  in  1515,  holding 
that  office. 

It  is  very  strange  that  since  that  remote  period, 

20 


230  DICK  RODNEY. 

no  European  country  has  turned  these  islands  txj 
any  account,  as  they  do  not  lie  more  than  fifty 
leagues  from  the  general  track  of  the  shipping 
bound  for  the  coast  of  Coromandel  or  the  Chi- 
nese seas,  and  in  time  of  war  would  form  a  use 
ful  and  important  rendezvous  for  a  fleet. 

They  lie  exactly  in  that  portion  of  the  wide 
and  mighty  ocean  where  it  was  fabled  and  be 
lieved  a  great  continent  would  yet  be  found. 

The  three  isles  of  Tristan  da  Cunha,  which  lie 
bome  hundred  miles  distant,  have  now  a  mixed 
population  of  English,  Portuguese,  and  mulat- 
toes ;  and  a  strong  garrison  was  maintained  there 
during  the  captivity  of  the  Emperor  Napoleon 
at  St.  Helena. 

Being  thus  cast  away  upon  a  shore  so  far  from 
the  general  track  of  ships,  we  resolved  to  make 
preparations  for  a  probable  residence  of  some 
time  —  to  build  a  hut  wherein  to  store  our  pro- 
visions, and  to  use  every  means  for  adding  to  our 
stock,  by  angling  in  the  creeks,  which  seemed  to 
abound  with  fish,  and  by  hunting  in  the  woods, 
which  teemed  with  goats  and  boars  running 
wild ;  by  collecting  bii-ds'  eggs,  as  the  cliffs 
seemed  to  be  literally  alive  with  petrels,  alba- 
trosses, and  sea-hens;  and  all  these  exertions 
were  the  more  necessary  as  none  could  foresee 
the  probable  length  of  our  sojourn  there. 

A  ship  might  heave  in  sight  to-morrow ;  but 
a  year  might  pass  before  one  came  near  enough 
to  be  attracte  i  by  om*  signs. 


THE   ISLAND    OF   ALPHONSO.  231 

We  resolved  to  have  a  signal-post  erected  on 
the  mountain  top,  a  beacon-fire  prepared,  and 
amid  these  and  many  other  deliberations,  the 
night  closed  in  and  found  us  tolerably  contented 
with  our  island,  and  even  disposed  to  be  merry 
over  misfortunes  that  we  could  not  control. 

But  considerable  speculation  was  excited  when 
Billy  Wilkins  the  cabin  boy,  who  had  been  in 
pursuit  of  a  little  kid  along  the  beach,  returned 
to  us,  dragging  after  him  a  long  spar  which  he 
had  found  among  the  layers  of  shingles,  bright 
shells,  and  dusky  weeds,  deposited  by  the  sea ; 
and  on  examination  this  spar  proved  to  be  one 
of  the  lower  studding-sail  booms  of  the  Eugenie, 
and  the  same  which  had  parted  from  the  brig  and 
fallen  overboard  with  Antonio  on  the  eventful 
evening  of  his  punishment! 

"  It  is  our  own  property,"  said  BiUy,  "  and  may 
be  useful  when  we  have  a  fire  to  light," 

"  Boy  Bill,  we  have  a  better  use  for  it  than 
burning,"  said  Tattooed  Tom  ;  "  'tis  the  mast  for 
our  signal-post,  already  made  to  hand,  and  we'll 
step  it  on  the  hill-top  to-morrow. 
,  For  that  night  we  bivouacked  under  a  large 
tree,  the  name  and  genus  of  which  were  alilie  un- 
known to  us.  At  times  some  were  conversing 
some  slept,  others  lay  waking  and  thinking,  with 
the  murmur  of  the  shining  sea,  close  by,  in  their 
ears ;  and  I  could  see  the  stars  of  the  Southern 
Cross  shining  with  wonderful  brilliance  at  the 
verge  of  the  watery  horizon. 


232  DICK   RODNEY. 

The  novelty  of  our  situation  kept  me  long 
awake,  and  with  my  head  pillowed  on  a  bundle 
of  dry  seaweed,  with  the  sail  of  the  longboat 
spread  over  us  as  an  impromptu  tent  and  for 
protection  from  the  dew,  I  lay  in  meditation  and 
fuU  of  melancholy  thoughts  ere  sleep  came  upon 
me,  and  with  it  confused  dreams  of  the  burning 
ship,  of  my  secluded  home,  and  of 

" the  schoolboy  spot, 


We  long  remember,  though  there  long  forgot." 

Again  I  was  at  Eton!  Again  I  saw  the 
smooth  green  playing-fields  alive  with  ardent 
schoolboys  in  the  merry  summer  sunshine ;  and 
again  I  heard  the  clamor  of  their  young  voices 
and  the  balls  rattling  on  bat  and  wicket ;  again 
I  heard  the  pleasant  green  leaves  rustle  in  the 
old  woods  of  the  Tudor  times ;  or  again  I  was 
in  the  shady  quadrangles  where  the  monotonous 
hum  of  many  classes  poring  over  their  studies 
stole  through  the  mullioned  windows  on  the 
ambient  air;  and  in  my  dreaming  ear  that 
"  drowsy  hum  "  seemed  strangely  to  mingle  with 
the  chafing  of  the  surge  upon  "  th'  unnumbered 
pebbles  "  of  the  lonely  shore  close  by. 

At  last  overcome  by  weariness,  by  lassitude 
and  toil,  I  slept  soundly. 


WE   BUILD    A   HUT.  233 


CHAPTER   XXXI. 


WE    BUILD    A    HUT. 


My  old  tutor  at  Eton  used  to  say,  quoting 
some  "  w^ise  saw,"  that  "  a  lazy  boy  made  a  lazy 
man,  just  as  a  crooked  sapling  makes  a  crooked 
tree." 

It  was  fortunate  for  me,  however,  while  on 
the  island  of  Alphonso,  that  my  habits  were  those 
of  activity,  and  that  I  was  never  lymphatic  by 
nature. 

After  dawn  next  morning  we  set  about  the 
erection  of  a  hut,  though  we  had  no  other  tools 
than  a  small  hatchet  and  our  clasp-knives. 
With  these  we  cut  or  tore  down  a  great  number 
of  large  branches,  and  stuck  them  in  the  earth, 
selecting  a  place  where  two  angles  of  impending 
rock  conveniently  enough  formed  two  solid 
walls  for  our  edifice,  leaving  us  but  two  others 
to  erect. 

As  Tom  Lambourne  said,  "  the  fellow  who 
cannot  use  a  hammer  or  axe,  is  only  half  a 
man^''  so  we  aU  worked  hard  with  such  imple- 
ments as  we  had,  until  our  hut  was  complete. 

We  left  an  entrance  next  the  rocks  by  which 

20* 


234  DICK   RODNEY. 

to  creep  in  and  out,  and  then  thatched  or  Duilt 
over  the  intertM^sted  branches  with  turf,  torn  up 
by  our  hands,  and  with  broad  plantain  leaves, 
creepers,  and  all  kinds  of  tendrils  that  had 
toughness  and  consistency  woven  to  form  a  roof. 

At  the  erection  of  this  most  primitive  wigwam 
we  toiled  the  whole  day,  save  during  the  scorch- 
ing interval  of  noon,  and  ere  nightfall  it  was 
complete,  with  piles  of  dried  leaves  and  seagrass 
for  couches  and  bedroom  furniture. 

Therein  we  placed  all  our  provisions  —  the 
three  bags  of  bread,  two  kegs  of  rum  (which  by 
unanimous  consent  were  placed  under  the  sole 
supervision  of  Hislop) ;  our  four  casks  of  water 
were  also  brought  ashore,  though  there  was  no 
lack  of  pure  springs  on  the  island. 

In  this  wigwam  were  also  placed  our  blankets, 
the  sails  and  tackle  of  the  longboat,  and  then  the 
succeeding  days  were  spent  in  accumvilating 
provisions  (as  we  looked  forward  with  dread  to 
our  last  biscuit),  and  a  signal-post  was  erected 
on  the  mountain. 

With  Probart  the  carpenter,  and  Henry  War- 
ren (two  of  our  stoutest  hands),  Tom  Lam- 
bourne  and  I  went  upon  this  duty. 

Alternately  carrying  on  our  shoulders  or  drag- 
ging in  our  hands  the  studding-sail  boom,  we 
toiled  through  wild  and  untrodden  Avastes,  to- 
ward the  summit  of  the  great  and  yet  nameless 
conical  mountain  that  rears  its  lonely  scalp  to 


WE   BUILD   A   HUT.  235 

the  height  of  five  thousand  feet  above  the  waves 
of  the  Southern  sea. 

The  hope  that  on  reaching  its  summit  we 
might  descry  a  sail,  was  an  additional  incentive 
to  toil  up  the  steep  slope  without  lingering  by 
the  way. 

On  leaving  a  flat  savanna  of  sedge-grass  we 
reached  a  series  of  wooded  ridges  Vv^hich  form 
the  base  of  the  mountain,  at  every  step  rousing 
clouds  of  birds,  especially  a  species  of  black- 
cock, and  twice  in  the  jungle  we  came  upon  the 
lair  of  wild  boars  of  great  size  and  such  ferocity 
of  aspect  that  we  were  glad  to  shrink  astern  of 
Tattooed  Tom,  who  can-ied  the  hatchet. 

This  jungle  was  exceedingly  difficult  of  pene- 
tration, owing  to  its  density,  the  number  of  wild 
aloes,  with  creeping  plants,  prickly  pears,  and 
other  tropical  weeds,  of  what  kind  I  know  not, 
twined  about  them.  It  was  a  literal  wilderness 
of  serrated  grass  blades,  yellow  gourds,  and  great 
squashy  pumpkins  like  gigantic  vegetable  mar* 
rows,  all  woven  into  an  inextricable  network  of 
leaves,  tendrils,  and  branches. 

In  other  places  we  had  to  force  a  passage 
through  thickets  of  richly  flowered  shrubs  and 
tall  plants  with  mighty  leaves,  the  general  green- 
ery of  the  landscape  being  increased  by  the 
many  runnels  of  fine  spring  water  which  poured 
down  the  fissures  c  f  the  mountain  into  the  plain 
we  had  left. 


236  DICK   RODNEY. 

By  the  sides  of  these  runnels,  we  frequently 
paused,  and  making  a  cup  of  a  large  leaf,  filled 
it  with  the  cool,  limpid  water  that  gurgled  over 
the  rocks,  to  quench  our  constant  thirst ;  and  for 
a  time  such  vegetable  cups  were  the  only  drink- 
ing vessels  we  had  while  on  the  island  of  Al- 
phonso. 

At  last  we  gained  the  summit  of  the  mountain, 
and  with  mingled  satisfaction  and  anxiety  in  our 
hearts,  swept  the  horizon  with  eager  eyes. 

Not  a  sail  was  in  sight! 

Far  as  our  eyesight  could  reach  around  us,  in 
a  mighty  circle,  rolled  the  waters  of  the  Southern 
Atlantic,  almost  tepid  with  heat,  and  pale  and 
white,  as  they  seemed  to  palpitate  under  the  rays 
of  the  unclouded  sun. 

At  our  feet  lay  the  whole  isle  of  Alphonso  and 
its  two  rocky  appendages,  with  the  encircling 
sea  boiling  in  the  narrow  chasms  between  them, 
with  a  fury  which  was  the  result  of  contrary 
cm'rents,  and  which  formed  a  singular  contrast  to 
its  calmness  elsewhere. 

After  a  brief  rest  we  prepared  to  set  up  the 
signal-post. 

Tom  took  off  his  shirt,  and  drawing  from  his 
pocket  a  piece  of  spunyarn,  which  a  seaman  is 
seldom  without,  he  lashed  his  under-garment  to 
the  end  of  the  studding-sail  boom,  and  by  the  aid 
of  the  hatchet  and  our  hands,  we  scraped  a  hole 
sufficiently  deep  in  which  to  erect  the  spar,  and 


WE   BUILD   A  HUT.  237 

then  jammed  it  hard  and  fast  with  stones.  A.3 
the  shirt  was  blown  out  flag  fashion  upon  the 
wind,  we  hoped  it  would  prove  a  sufficient  indi- 
cation to  a  vessel  approaching  from  any  quarter 
that  there  were  people  on  the  island  in  want  of 
succor. 

For  some  hours  we  lingered  on  the  mountain- 
top,  in  the  fond  hope  of  seeing  a  sail,  and  then 
returned  slowly  downward  to  the  beach,  where 
our  shipmates  awaited  us  at  the  wigM^am  which 
now  formed  our  home,  and  which  we  jocularly 
designated  the  capital  city  of  Alphonso. 


2^8  DICK   RODNEY. 


CHAPTER   XXXII. 


A    WILD    BOAR. 


"We  felt  very  much  the  want  of  firearms.  The 
air  seemed  alive  with  birds  —  the  woods  with 
game  of  several  kinds  ;  and  now  an  old  musket 
with  a  few  charges  of  powder  would  have  proved 
more  useful  to  us  than  the  treasure  of  the  Bank 
of  England. 

Hislop  recovered  strength  rapidly,  and  his  con- 
valescence inspired  our  little  band  of  castaways 
with  new  confidence  and  vigor,  as  they  had  im- 
plicit reliance  in  his  superior  knowledge  and  in- 
telligence. 

We  were  never  idle ;  for,  unarmed  as  we 
were,  the  task  of  procuring  food  for  our  general 
store  was  by  no  means  a  sinecure  to  those  who 
undertook  it. 

Tom  Lambourne  and  John  Burnet,  the  cook, 
first  brought  us  a  valuable  contribution  in  the 
shape  of  a  great  sea-lion,  which  was  furnished 
with  a  rough  and  shaggy  mane,  that  added 
greatly  to  its  terrible  aspect,  for  it  was  an  un- 
wieldy brute,  as  large  as  a  small-sized  cow. 

They  had  fallen  in  with  it  when  it  lay  bask* 


A   WILD   BOAR.  239 

ing  on  the  beach.  Bm-net  courageously  attacked 
it  with  one  of  the  stretchers  of  the  long-boat,* 
and  dealt  it  a  severe  stroke  on  the  head. 

The  animal  uttered  a  hoarse  grunt  and  turned 
upon  him  open-mouthed,  when  he  thrust  the 
staff  down  its  throat,  and  held  it  there  till  Lam- 
bourne  hewed  off  the  head  with  his  hatchet. 

One  or  two  others  were  afterwards  despatched 
in  the  same  way ;  but  we  had  to  lie  long  in 
wait,  and  could  catch  them  only  by  cutting  off 
their  retreat  to  the  water. 

Their  hearts  and  tongues  ^vere  considered  the 
best  food  by  the  sailors,  who  broiled  them  over 
a  fire  which  we  kindled  by  striking  two  stones 
together,  and  letting  the  sparks  fall  upon  a  heap 
of  dry  leaves  ;  and  to  the  discovery  of  these  im- 
promptu flints  we  were  indebted  to  Ned  Carlton. 

As  for  salt,  I  found  plenty  of  it,  baked  in  the 
crevices  of  the  rocks  upon  the  beach,  where  the 
spray  had  dried  it  in  the  hot  sunshine, 

"The  wild  boars  that  lurked  in  the  woods,  baf- 
fled our  efforts  for  a  long  time.  By  the  edge  of 
the  hatchet  we  possessed,  I  fashioned  for  my 
own  use  a  kind  of  spear,  about  six  feet  long, 
hewn  out  of  a  piece  of  fine  teak  woou,  which  I 
found  upon  the  beach. 

This  weapon  I  made  and  pointed  with  great 

*  Stretchers  are  pieces  of  wood  placed  across  the  bottom  of  a 
boat,  whereon  the  oarsmen  place  their  feet  that  they  may  have 
additional  purchase  in  rowing. 


240  DICK   RODNEY. 

care,  and  armed  with  it  frequently  lay  in  watcb 
for  the  sea-lions,  but  without  success. 

On  the  shore,  at  this  season,  when  the  sun- 
shine was  reflected  from  the  sloping  faces  of  the 
volcanic  rocks  and  from  the  surface  of  the  sea, 
the  heat  was  beyond  aU  description  —  intense 
breathless,  and  suffocating,  so  that  the  lungs 
would  collapse  painfully,  in  the  difficulty  of  res- 
piration. 

To  breathe  was  like  attempting  it  at  the 
mouth  of  a  newly  opened  furnace,  and  so  I  usu- 
ally retired  inland  and  sought  the  cool  solitude 
of  the  deep  thickets,  or  wandered  through  groves 
of  solemn,  impressive,  and  majestic  old  trees ;  for 
some  were  there  so  old,  that  they  must  have  cast 
the  shadows  of  their  foliage  on  Alphonso  de  Albu- 
querque, or  Tristan  de  Cunha,  and  their  bearded 
followers. 

How  many  ocean  storms  had  swept  their 
leaves  into  the  waste  of  waters  since  then  ! 

We  had  now  been  five  days  on  the  island 
without  a  sail  being  seen,  though  more  than 
half  our  time  was  spent  in  watching  the  horizon ; 
and  so  Tom  Lanibourne's  old  shirt  still  waved 
in  vain  from  the  boom-end  on  the  mountain- 
top. 

On  the  fifth  day,  however,  to  our  surprise,  the 
signal  was  no  longer  visible,  so  we  supposed  that 
a  gust  of  wind  had  overthrown  it  in  the  night. 

Lambourne,  Carlton,  and  Probart  started  for 


A  WILD   BOAR.  241 

the  mountain-top  to  restore  it,  while  Hislop  and 
I  rambled  into  the  woodr,  where  we  had  a  view 
of  the  shining  sea  to  the  westward.  The  waves 
came  in  long  rollers,  as  there  was  a  fresh  breeze 
blowing  from  the  west,  and  the  foam  rose  white 
and  high  on  the  tremendous  blufis  of  the  Liac- 
cessible  Isles,  as  we  named  them. 

All  the  water  between  them  was  a  sheet  of 
sparkling  and  snowy  frolh,  amid  which,  had  we 
been  nearer,  we  should  doubtless  have  seen  the 
black  heads  of  the  sea  lions,  as  they  sported  in 
the  spray  and  sunshine. 

On  asking  Hislop  how  far  he  thought  we  were 
from  the  continents  of  Africa  and  South  America, 
he  replied  without  hesitation,  — 

"  We  are  about  fifteen  hundred  miles  from  the 
mouth  of  the  Rio  de  la  Plata  on  the  westward, 
and  twelve  hundred  odd  from  the  Cape  of  Good 
Hope  on  the  east ;  but  there  is  land  nearer  to 
us " 

"  Land  nearer ! "  I  reiterated. 

"  There  are  the  three  isles  of  Tristan  da  Cunha, 
and  about  five  hundred  niiles  south-west  of  us  a 
desolate  rock  called  the  Isle  of  Diego  Alvarez ; 
and  fortunate  it  is  indeed  for  us  that  we  were 
not  cast  away  there,  as  it  yields  only  mossy  grass, 
and  now  and  then  a  few  seals  or  sea-elephants 
may  be  seen  upon  the  reefs  about  it.  But,  Dick 
Rodney,  does  it  not  make  one  long  to  be  afloat 
again,  with    a  good  ship  underfoot,  both  tacks 

21 


242  DICK    RODNEY. 

and  the  breeze  too,  aft?  —  a  cloud  of  canvas, 
carrying  the  three  masts  into  one  when  seen 
astern  —  the  lower  studding-sail  booms  rigged 
out  and  dipping  in  the  flying  spray  as  she  rolls 
from  side  to  side  —  does  it  not,  I  say,  bring  all 
this  to  mind,  when  from  here  we  can  walch  the 
waves  that  rose,  perhaps,  upon  the  shores  of 
Mexico  rolling  in  foam  betvi^een  these  rocky  isles  ? 
Do  you  remember  Homer's  description  of  the 
curling  wave  ?  "  And  without  waiting  my  reply 
he  began  to  recite  from  the  Iliad,  with  wonderful 
facility  : 

"As  on  t!ie  hoarse  resounding  shore,  Avhen   blows   the   stormy 

west, 
The  billowy  tide  comes  surging  wide,  from   ocean's    dark   blue 

breast ; 
First   in   mid-sea   'tis   born,   then   swells   and   rages   more    and 

more. 
And   rolling  on  with   snowy  back,  comes   thundering  near  the 

shore ; 
Then   rears    its    crest,  firm   and    sublime,  and  with   tumultuous 

bray 
Smites   the   grim  front  of  'the  rugged  rock,  and  spits  the  briny 

spray." 

How  far  Hislop  in  his  classical  enthusiasm 
might  have  pursued  his  free  translation,  till  we 
had  all  the  deeds  of  Agamemnon  and  others  on 
that  tremendous  day  before  the  walls  of  Troy,  ] 
cannot  say,  had  not  a  crashing  sound  in  the  ad- 
jacent thicket  roused  and  alarmed  us. 

We  started  up,  and  had  just  time  to  conceal 


A   WILD   BOAR.  243 

ourselves  behind  the  trunk  of  a  tree,  when  a  herd 
of  seven  wild  boars  came  plunging  out  of  the 
thicket  to  drink  at  a  runnel  which  flowed  toward 
the  sea. 

They  were  unlike  any  of  the  swinish  race  we 
had  ever  seen  before  ;  and  but  for  our  vague  sen- 
sations of  alarm  we  could  have  watched  them 
with  pleasure,  as  they  inserted  their  long  fierce 
snouts  in  the  water  that  sparkled  under  the  forest 
leaves. 

They  were  all  broad-shouldered  animals,  with 
high  crests  and  thick  bristly  manes  ;  and  all  were 
black  in  color  or  darkly  brindled. 

Unlike  those  of  the  sty-fed  hogs  to  which  we 
had  been  accustomed  at  home,  their  erected 
bristles  shone  like  silver  or  polished  steel  in  the 
rays  of  sunshine  that  fell  through  the  waving 
branches  ;  their  eyes  were  flashing  and  clear,  and 
their  skins  were  all  clean  as  if  washed  for  a  show 
of  prize  pigs. 

Thin  flanked,  active,  and  strong,  they  began 
to  grunt  and  gambol,  and  to  splash  up  the  glit- 
tering water,  till  suddenly  they  caught  sight  of 
us,  and  all  fled  save  one,  a  fierce  old  boar,  which, 
after  tearing  up  the  grass  with  his  hind  feet,  came 
lesolutely  forward,  showing  a  pair  of  tusks  that 
made  me  tremble  for  the  calves  of  my  legs  if  I 
ventured  to  run  off",  and  still  more  for  those  of 
poor  Hislop,  who  was  alike  unable  to  escajjc  or 
confront  him. 


244  DICK   RODNEY. 

Fortunately  I  had  my  teak-wood  spear. 

While  keeping  a  tree  between  me  and  the 
boar,  he  prepared  for  the  ofiensive  by  whetting 
his  terrible  tusks  against  a  stone  and  gi-unting 
hoarsely. 

Excited  and  bewildered,  as  he  came  on  at  a 
quick  run,  I  charged  my  weapon  full  at  him,  and 
by  the  mercy  of  Providence,  the  point  entered 
one  of  his  fierce  glittering  eyes,  which  made  him 
rear  and  recoil,  while  in  his  rage  and  pain  the 
bristles  on  his  ridgy  back  rose  up  like  little  blades 
of  steel. 

"  Into  his  throat  with  your  spear  I  "  cried  His- 
lop ;  but  I  anticipated  the  suggestion,  for  ere  the 
words  had  left  his  lips,  I  had  buried  —  thrusting 
deep  with  all  the  force  that  excitement  and  terror 
gave  me  —  the  pointed  teak-wood  shaft  down 
his  red  and  gaping  throat. 

Choking  in  blood,  in  foam  and  fury,  the  great 
boar  writhed  upon  his  back,  and  in  doing  so 
twitched  from  my  hands  the  weapon,  which  still 
remained  wedged  in  his  throat  and  tongue,  and 
rendered  him  almost  powerless.  I  knew  not  what 
to  do  now,  for  if  he  snapped  it  through,  and  thus 
released  himself,  we,  or  I  at  least,  would  be  lost. 

But  as  he  lay  there  on  his  back  and  sides  al- 
ternately, snorting,  roaring,  and  covering  the 
grass  with  bloody  froth,  and  tearing  it  by  his 
bristles.  Hi  slop  sprang  forward,  and  though  weak 
with  many  half-healed  wounds,  drove  a  clasp- 


A   WILD    BOAR.  245 

knife  repeatedly  into  the  throat  and  stomach  of 
the  monster,  which  soon  lay  still  enough. 

When  it  was  quite  dead,  I  drew  out  my  teak- 
wood  spear,  and  found  the  point  almost  unin- 
jured, for  I  had  hardened  it  in  fire. 

We  thrust  two  crooked  branches  through  the 
tendons  of  the  boar's  hind-legs,  and  by  these 
drew  it  to  our  hut,  which  was  about  half  a  mile 
distant ;  there  our  prize  caused  great  congratula- 
tion among  our  crew,  and  I  obtained  no  little 
praise  for  performing  so  hardy  a  feat. 

Our  return  diverted  for  a  time  some  excite- 
ment and  surprise  which  had  been  caused  by  the 
return  of  Tom  Lambourne,  Probart,  and  Carl- 
ton from  the  mountain-top,  with  tidings  that  the 
studding-sail  boom  had  vanished,  and  that  not  a 
trace  of  it  was  to  be  found  an}-where  ! 

21* 


246  DICK   RODNEY. 


CHAPTER   XXXIII. 

A    NEW    PERPLEXITY. 

The  disappearance  of  the  boom  and  of  Toth's 
old  striped  shirt,  which  had  waved  from  it  like  a 
banner,  excited  considerable  speculation  and 
something  of  alarm. 

If  simply  overturned  by  the  wind,  it  must 
have  lain  where  it  fell ;  at  all  events,  it  could 
not  have  rolled  far  from  the  cairn,  or  pile  of 
stones,  in  the  centre  of  which  we  had  wedged  it. 
By  what  agency  had  this  disappearance  come 
to  pass  ? 

That  it  was  the  work  of  wild  animals  could 
not  for  a  moment  be  conceived ;  so  the  event 
filled  us  with  vague  but  very  alarming  conjec- 
tures. 

With  his  hatchet,  Probart  the  carpenter  cut 
down  and  prepared  a  long  and  slender  tree  to 
replace  the  lost  boom  on  the  top  of  the  Devil's 
Mountain,  as  we  now  termed  it ;  and  while  one 
portion  of  us  assisted  him  in  this,  the  other  set 
about  the  capture  of  some  of  the  wild  goats  with 
which  the  woods  of  the  island  abounded,  as  we 
were  anxious  to  procure  the  milk  of  the  females, 
and  the  flesh  of  their  kids. 


A    NEW    PERPLEXITY.  247 

This  was  a  most  arduous  task,  as  they  were 
so  fleet  of  foot ;  and  when  pursued,  or  when  in 
search  of  those  bitter  and  astringent  plants  of 
V  hich  tliey  are  so  fond,  they  could  gain  the 
most  dangerous  pinnacles  and  ledges  of  rock 
that  overhung  the  sea.  In  such  places  there 
grew  a  kind  of  wild  laburnum,  and  Hislop  did 
not  fail  to  remind  me  that  Theocritus  described 
it  as  the  favorite  food  of  the  goat. 

We  often  saw  these  agile  quadrupeds  spring, 
without  pause,  fear,  or  hesitation,  from  pinnacle 
to  pinnacle,  or  from  ledge  to  ledge  of  rock,  where, 
had  they  missed  footing,  they  must  have  fallen  a 
thousand  feet  or  more,  either  into  the  ocean  on 
one  side,  or  some  ravine  on  the  other ;  and  there, 
perched  far  aloft,  they  would  remain,  looking  at 
us  quietly,  and  reminding  me  of  the  couplet : 

"  High  hiinc:  in  air  tlie  hoary  goat  reclined, 
His  streaming  beard  the  sport  of  every  wind." 

By  great  industry,  and  the  exertion  of  incredi- 
ble labor  and  activity,  we  succeeded  in  capturing 
five,  by  isolating  them  from  their  flocks  and 
chasing  them  into  chasms  and  corners  from 
which  they  had  no  means  of  escape,  and  then  we 
secured  them  by  the  running  rigging  of  the  long- 
boat. 

Some  of  the  females  afforded  milk,  a  rarity  and 
nourishment  to  us  who  had  been  so  long  at  sea 
The  flesh  of  a  kid  we  thought  delicious ;  and 


248  DICK   RODNEY. 

lest  we  should  tire  of  roasted  and  broiled,  Jack 
Burnet,  the  ship's  cook',  contrived  to  boil  some 
pieces  of  a  goat  in  its  own  skin,  stretched  upon 
sticks,  with  a  fire  underneath,  salt  for  a  spice,  and 
sliced  pumpkin  for  vegetables. 

Of  the  horns,  when  carefully  scraped  and 
cleaned,  we  made  very  efficient  drinking-cups, 
in  which  our  rum,  duly  mixed  with  water,  was 
doled  out  to  us  by  Hislop,  the  keeper  of  our  pro- 
vision-store. 

The  eggs  of  the  sea-birds  were  a  constant  ob- 
ject of  search,  and  being  an  expert  climber,  I  fre- 
quently collected  great  numbers  of  those  laid  in 
the  crevices  of  the  rocks  by  the  sea-gull  and 
storm-finch. 

Our  life  was  one  of  perpetual  exposure  and 
daily  activity.  Though  overpoweringly  hot  at 
noon,  the  atmosphere  of  the  morning  and  even- 
ing was  delightful ;  and  as  these  portions  of  the 
day  were  spent  in  hunting  for  food,  the  time 
passed  rapidly  ;  but  Hislop's  chief  fear  was,  that 
if  we  were  not  taken  off  by  some  ship  before  the 
rainy  season  set  in,  our  discomforts  and  danger 
from  agues  would  become  very  great. 

By  the  time  we  had  been  fourteen  days  on  the 
island,  he  was  recovered  so  far  as  to  be  able  to 
join  me  in  making  an  exploration  of  it,  or  rather 
in  walking  all  round  it. 

The  circumference  of  the  largest  isle  is  only 
four  leagues;   but  its   shores  are  so  steep  and 


A   NEW  PERPLEXITY.  249 

rocky  in  some  places,  that  traversing  them 
proved  a  most  arduous  task. 

On  the  eastern  side  we  found  a  great  cascade 
pouring  from,  a  brow  of  rock  upon  the  beach. 
The  latter  was  covered  almost  everywhere  by  a 
broad-leaved  seaweed,  the  dark  and  sHmy  ten- 
drils of  which  were  several  yards  in  length,  and 
were  termed  by  Hislop  "  the  gigantic  fucus." 

So  day  after  day  passed,  and  amid  our  various 
means  of  procuring  food,  we  never  failed  to  keep 
a  keen  look-out  to  seaward  for  a  passing  sail; 
but  none  came  near  that  lonely  islet  of  the 
southern  sea. 

One  morning  I  found  there  had  drifted  ashore 
near  our  hut  a  mass  of  that  mysterious  sub- 
stance, the  origin  of  which  has  puzzled  so  many 
naturalists  —  ambergi-is.  It  must  have  weighed 
more  than  a  hundred  pounds  in  weight;  and 
and  when  we  threw  some  of  it  into  the  fire,  it 
melted  and  diffused  around  a  most  agreeable 
perfume.  This  marine  production,  which  is  only 
to  be  found  in  the  seas  or  on  the  shores  of  Africa 
and  Brazil,  is  alleged  by  some  to  be  a  concre- 
tion formed  in  the  stomach  of  the  spermaceti 
whale. 

On  the  fifteenth  morning  after  our  landing,  a 
seaman  named  Henry  Warren,  who  went  to 
milk  our  goats,  which  had  been  tethered  to  a 
large  tree  near  the  hut,  returned  in  haste  to  an- 
nounce that  the  ropes  which  had  secured  them 


250  DICK   RODNEY. 

were  cat,  apparently  by  a  sharp  instrument  — 
cut  clean  through  —  and  that  the  goats,  the  cap- 
tur(i  of  which  had  cost  us  so  much  labor,  were 
gone. 

"  Cut  ?     By  whom  ?  "  asked  every  one. 

Before  we  had  time  to  consider  this,  Hislop 
came  out  of  the  hut,  and  stated  that  one  of  our 
three  bread  bags  had  also  been  cut  open,  by  a 
slash  from  a  knife  apparently,  and  that  several 
pounds  of  biscuit  had  been  abstracted. 

The  strange  alarm,  and  what  was  worse,  the 
doubt  of  each  other,  which  these  discoveries  ex- 
cited, were  painful  and  bewildering. 

We  examined  the  place  where  the  goats  had 
been  tethered,  but  could  discover  no  traces  of 
feet,  and  nothing  remained  but  the  ends  of  the 
ropes  (the  longboat  sheets  and  halliards)  tied  to 
the  stem  of  a  tree. 

Whoever  among  us  had  done  this  was  guilty 
of  wanton  malice  and  treason  to  the  rest  of  his 
friends  —  for  friends  we  hoped  we  were,  as  well 
as  brothers  in  misfortune. 

We  also  examined  the  mutilated  bread  bag. 
In  the  side  thereof  was  a  clean  slash  a  foot  in 
length,  made  by  some  sharp  instrument,  and  by 
\this  aperture  the  biscuits  had  been  abstracted  by 
some  one  who  had  inserted  his  hands  through 
the  fragile  wall  of  our  hut,  which,  as  I  have 
stated,  was  composed  only  of  turf  and  branches. 

This  theft  had  been  committed  in  the  night; 
but  by  whom  ? 


A   NEW   PERPLEXITY.  251 

Was  the  thief  one  of  ourselves?  The  eyes 
of  each  seemed  to  ask  the  hateful  question  of 
the  others,  and  to  repel  then  inquiring  glances; 
but  soon  after  three  of  our  missing  biscuits  were 
discovered  by  Tom  Lambourne,  lying  a  few 
yards  apart  among  the  long  grass,  as  if  the 
abstractor  had  dropped  them  during  a  hasty 
flight  toward  the  woods  or  the  Devil's  Moun- 
tain. 

"  In  addition  to  ourselves  there  is  some  one 
else  on  this  island,"  exclaimed  Hislop,  emphati- 
cally ;  "  and  this  accounts  for  the  loss  of  the 
studding-sail  boom  ;  and  without  delay,  this  some 
one  else  must  be  discovered." 

We  dreaded  lest  savages  might  be  concealed 
in  some  of  the  caverns  or  woods,  and  that  they 
might  come  upon  us  in  the  night  and  slay  all,  or 
that  they  might  make  off  with  or  destroy  the 
longboat,  our  most  valuable  possession. 

It  was  at  once  resolved  that  one  of  our  num- 
ber (to  be  regularly  relieved)  should  remain  in  it 
day  and  night,  armed  with  the  hatchet,  our  only 
weapon,  and  that  he  should  be  well  flogged  if 
he  slept,  or  neglected  the  double  duty  of  watch- 
ing the  hut  and  boat,  which  were  close  by  each 
other. 


252  DICK  RODNEY. 


CHAPTER  XXXIV. 

THE    MYSTERY    INCREASES. 

An  immediate  search  was  resolved  upon. 
Lots  were  cast  for  the  one  who  was  to  remain 
behind  to  guard  our  property,  and  the  duty  fell 
upon  me. 

Armed  with  the  boat  stretchers,  or  with  clubs 
which  they  had  carefully  selected  and  cut  from 
the  trees,  EQslop  departed  with  aU  my  compan- 
ions ;  and  after  proceeding  over  the  grassy  plain, 
they  soon  disappeared  in  the  woods  that  covered 
all  the  lower  slope  of  the  great  mountain. 

I  cannot  describe  the  sensations  of  loneliness 
that  came  over  me  on  finding  myself  for  the  first 
time  single,  alone,  and  left  entirely  to  my  own 
reflections  and  resources. 

The  carpenter's  hatchet  was  my  only  weapon ; 
and  armed  with  it  I  sat  on  a  grassy  slope  mid- 
way between  the  hut  and  sea,  gazing  anxiously 
inland,  listening  for  any  passing  sound ;  but  all 
remained  still  save  the  chafing  of  the  waves  on 
one  hand,  and  the  loud  buzz  of  tropical  insect 
life  in  the  thickets  or  among  the  long  grass  on 
the  other. 


THE  MYSTEKY  INCREASES.        253 

What,  I  asked  myself,  if  savages  were  actu- 
ally lurking  in  the  woods,  and  on  seeing  that  all 
my  companions  were  gone,  they  should  come  tu- 
multuously  down  upon  the  hut  and  boat  ?  I 
would  at  once  become  their  victim. 

Or  what  would  be  my  fate  if  my  friends  fell 
into  an  ambush,  or  perished  in  detail  ? 

Could  any  human  beings  be  lurking  in  the  two 
adjacent  isles  ?  was  my  next  surmise. 

We  had  never  seen  any  thing  alive  on  them 
—  not  even  wild  goats  or  boars ;  and  if  there 
were  other  inhabitants,  the  steepness  of  the 
rocks,  which  rose  sheer  from  the  water,  and  the 
fury  of  the  surf  that  rolled  between,  forbade  any 
attempt  to  cross. 

So  in  such  painful  surmises,  and  in  keen 
watching,  I  passed  the  most  of  the  day  alone. 

In  the  afternoon,  one  by  one,  all  my  shipmates 
returned  to  our  little  headquarters  on  the  shore, 
weary  and  jaded  —  torn  by  briars  and  brambles 
in  the  thickets  —  and  all  had  the  same  tale  to 
tell.  They  had  seen  and  heard  of  nothing  save 
wild  boars,  wild  goats,  and  sea-birds. 

Hislop  now  directed  that  one  of  our  number 
should  guard  the  hut  by  night,  and  a  second  the 
boat,  with  orders  to  hail  each  other  in  this  fash- 
ion : 

"  Boat,  ahoy !  " 

"  Hut,  ahoy !  " 

This  was  to  insure  a  w'atchful  look-out ;  but 

22 


'254  DICK   RODNEY. 

wiih  all  these  precautions,  wise  and  necessary 
though  they  were,  our  feeling  of  security,  and 
t*ven  of  reliance  on  each  other,  was  gone  for  the 
time. 

As  these  occurrences  excited  the  imagination 
of  our  companions,  some  of  those  who  watched 
the  hut  and  boat  by  night,  asserted  that  when 
all  our  party,  save  themselves,  were  safely  lodged 
and  asleep,  something  like  the  figure  of  a  ver} 
tall  man  had  appeared  for  an  instant  on  the 
bluffs  that  overhung  the  sea,  between  them  and 
the  moonlight. 

But  of  this  mysterious  personage,  if  such  ex- 
isted anywhere,  except  in  the  overstrained  imag- 
ination of  a  lonely  midnight  watcher,  we  could 
discover  no  trace  during  day. 

One  night,  when  Francis  Probart  and  Ned 
Carlton  were  on  watch,  a  sound  like  the  distant 
report  of  a  pistol  was  heard  by  them,  and  at  the 
same  instant,  both  saw  a  flock  of  petrels  and 
storm-finches  rise  up  in  the  moonlight  from  the 
face  of  a  bluff,  where  they  revolved  above  the 
breakers,  like  a  swarm  of  gnats  in  a  smibeam. 

So  if  Ned  and  the  carpenter  were  mistaken 
in  the  sound,  the  birds  were  also  roused  and 
alarmed. 

Marc  Hislop  ridiculed  their  story,  but  he  was 
considerably  bewildered,  and  so  were  we  all  when 
two  days  after,  a  seaman  named  Hugh  Chute, 
when  rambling  in  the  woods,  found  one  of  our 


THE  MYSTERY  INCREASES.        255 

goats,  which  we  knew  by  the  fragment  of  rope 
still  tied  round  its  neck,  lying  dead,  with  a  bul- 
let in  its  throat  I 

He  brought  it  to  the  hut,  where  the  wound 
was  cut  open,  and  the  bullet  extracted.  It  was 
small,  and  had  evidently  been  fired  from  a  pis- 
tol ;  this  event  caused  the  most  exciting  specu- 
lations, amid  which  the  carcass  was  hastily 
buried,  as  not  one  of  us  would  eat  of  it. 

What  or  who  could  this  person  be  ?  were  the 
prevailing  questions ;  and  what  was  his  reason 
for  concealing  himself  from  us  in  the  thick  woods 
of  the  island  ? 

In  the  thorough  exploration  of  the  latter,  caused 
by  these  episodes,  our  people  fortunately  discov- 
ered a  fine  grove  of  banana  trees,  and  returned 
laden  with  their  yellow  and  luscious  fruit. 

At  the  same  time  Tattooed  Tom  found  some 
letters  "  in  a  foreign  lingo,"  as  he  said,  cut  on 
the  face  of  a  steep  rock,  overhanging  the  river, 
which  formed  the  cascade  at  the  beach.  To  this 
rock  he  conducted  Hislop  and  me  next  day,  and 
after  tearing  aside  some  masses  of  creepers  and 
scraping  off  a  rich  coating  of  moss,  we  found 
this  old  legend  on  the  smoothed  face  of  the  ba- 
salt : 

El  noble  Caballero,  D.  Alphonso  de  Albuqueequb  ; 
A.  D.  1506. 

RVGVEX    A    DiOS    FOR   EL. 

"  The  yeai  of  the  discovery  of  the  island  I " 
said  Hislop. 


256  DICK   RODNEY. 

"  Have  other  eyes  ever  seen  this  inscription 
since  ?  "  added  I. 

"  It  is  very  doubtful.  This  Alphonso  also  dis- 
covered the  Albuquerque  Kays,  as  he  named  the 
three  islets  which  lie  off  the  Mosquito  shore  in 
the  Caribbean  Sea." 

Hislop  copied  the  inscription  into  his  note- 
book, and  just  as  we  turned  to  leave  the  spot,  a 
large  stone  about  sixty  pounds  in  weight,  came 
crashing  down  the  ciilf,  hurled  apparently  from 
its  summit,  and  if  so,  by  no  inexpert  hand,  for  it 
struck  the  rock  of  the  legend  within  a  foot  of 
where  Hislop  stood,  and  was  shivered  into  a 
hundred  pieces,  covering  him  over  with  dust. 

Had  it  struck  him  instead,  he  had  been  slain 
and  mangled  on  the  spot.  Had  a  fragment 
broken  any  of  his  limbs,  in  how  miserable  a 
plight  would  he  have  been  on  that  desolate 
island,  without  proper  shelter  or  surgical  aid ! 

Looking  up  to  the  summit  of  the  cliff,  which 
was  about  a  hundred  and  fifty  feet  in  height,  I 
perceived  among  the  dense  fringe  of  wild  gourds, 
shrubs,  leaves,  and  plantain  trees,  then  waving 
in  the  wind,  something  like  a  human  face,  that, 
after  peering  over  at  us,  was  suddenly  with- 
drawn. 

"  That  stone  was  never  dislodged  either  by 
goats  or  by  accident,"  said  Hislop ;  there  is  not 
a  vestige  of  clay  upon  the  fragments  —  besides, 
all  the  face  of  the  cliff  is  smooth  and  solid 
rock ! " 


THE  MYSTERY  INCREASES.        257 

"  And  it  is  the  only  place  we  did  not  overhaul 
yesterday,  master  ilislop,"  said  Tom  Lam- 
bourne. 

"  Then  there  must  be  the  thief  of  our  biscuits 
—  of  our  goats " 


"  Of  our  stun'sail  boom  and  my  old  guernsey 
Let  us  have  all  hands  turned  up  for  a  hunt 
again,"  exclaimed  Tom. 

I  now  mentioned  what  I  had  seen. 

"  A  man !  —  do  you  think  it  was  a  man'a 
head  ?  " 

"I  cannot  be  certain,  Hislop,"  said  I;  "it 
seemed  a  face  of  some  kind,  and  a  very  hairy 
one  too." 

"  It  might  be  an  old  pumpkin,"  suggested 
Tom,  in  his  matter-of-fact  way. 

"  Or  a  goat  —  at  all  events,  it  could  not  have 
been  a  baboon  ?  "  said  I. 

"  No,  no ;  there  is  no  such  animal  hereabout, 
master  Rodney,"  replied  Tom. 

"  Man  or  monkey,  goat  or  devil,  we'll  overhaul 
the  place  this  very  afternoon,"  exclaimed  Hislop, 
with  increasing  energy  and  anger ;  "  but  first  we 
hall  return  with  all  expedition  to  the  hut." 


22* 


258  DICK   RODNEY. 


CHAPTER   XXXV 

THE    MYSTERY    SOLVED. 

All  day  the  air  had  been  unusually  sultry  and 
breathlessly  hot,  even  for  the  tropics  at  that  sea- 
son ;  but  when  the  sun  sank  westward,  when 
the  air  became  cooler,  and  the  shadows  of  the 
island,  with  its  wooded  bluff  and  towering  blue 
mountain,  across  the  slope  of  which  the  light 
gossamer  clouds  lay  floating  half-way  up,  were 
thrown  far  eastward  over  that  lonely  sea  which 
no  keel  seemed  ever  to  furrow,  we  prepared  for 
a  further  exploration,  or  as  Hugh  Chute  saidj 
"  to  overhaul  that  ere  cliff  from  truck  to  keelson." 

Chute  and  Carlton  were  despatched  to  its 
base,  by  the  way  of  the  river  bank,  and  to  where 
the  cascade  poured  over  the  rocks,  waking  the 
solemn  echoes  of  the  otherwise  silent  ravine. 

Their  instructions  were,  to  station  themselves 
near  the  rock  which  bore  the  Spanish  legend  — 
to  keep  a  sharp  look-out  on  the  face  of  the  cliff 
and  all  the  way  up  to  the  grove  of  banana  trees 
that  grew  on  its  summit. 

Billy  the  cabin  boy  was  left  in  charge  of  the 
hut  and  boat,  while  Hislop,  with  the  rest  of  ua 


THE    MYSTERY    SOLVED.  259 

advanced  toward  the  cliff,  up  the  sloping  bank 
of  which  —  its  only  accessible  point — we  pro- 
ceeded to  climb. 

It  was,  or  is  (twelve  months  can  make  no 
change)  a  hundred  and  fifty  feet  in  height,  as  I 
have  stated,  rising  sharply  up  from  the  side  of 
the  great  mountain,  and  is  covered  by  a  jungle 
of  wild  shrubs  that  must  have  been  growing 
there  since  the  days  of  the  deluge. 

The  creepers  with  gummy  branches,  the  sharp 
serrated  grass,  the  yellow  gourd  vines,  the  wild 
tendrils  and  plants  of  which  we  knew  neither  the 
names  nor  the  nature,  were  there  interwoven  as 
closely  as  a  herring  net,  to  the  depth  of  seven  or 
eight  feet  from  their  roots. 

Amid  this  jungle  the  hum  of  the  myriads  of 
great  insects  which  we  roused  and  dislodged 
was  deafening ;  while  the  black  clouds  of  gad- 
flies and  cockroaches  were  very  bewildering, 
and,  to  say  the  least,  annoying. 

We  floundered  and  fell  as  we  waded  through 
this  sea  of  leaves  and  verdure,  but  rose  and 
scrambled  on  again,  pausing  ever  and  anon, 
breathless  and  exhausted,  to  sit  and  fan  our- 
selves, or  to  aid  in  pulling  each  other  out  of  this 
jungly  networii,  for  it  resembled  that  which 
sprang  by  magic  spell  around  the  palace  of  the 
sleeping  beauty  in  the  old  fairy  tale,  to  baffle  alJ 
intruders  for  a  hundred  years. 

Hislop,  who  had  not  yet  recovered  his  strength, 


560  DICK   RODNEY. 

was  among  the  first  to  give  in,  and  declare, 
when  half  way  up,  that  "  he  could  climb  no 
further  I " 

Two  or  three  took  advantage  of  this  admis- 
sion to  remain  with  him  for  a  time ;  but  I, 
refreshed  by  a  ripe  banana  which  had  fallen 
from  the  trees  at  the  top,  and  which  I  found 
just  at  hand,  pushed  on,  and  being  lighter  than 
any  of  my  companions,  got  ahead  of  them  all. 

After  half  an  hour's  severe  toil,  during  which 
my  hands  and  knees  were  lacerated  and  torn  by 
sharp  blades  of  gigantic  grass,  and  by  the  gummy 
creepers  to  which  one's  very  flesh  adhered  at  times, 
I  reached  at  last  the  banana  trees,  the  foliage  of 
which  waved  like  a  gigantic  plume  on  the  summit 
of  this  isolated  rock. 

The  banana  rises  with  a  stem  which  is  about  six 
or  seven  inches  in  diameter  at  the  root,  and  from 
thence  tapers  upward  to  the  height  of  eighteen  or 
twenty  feet,  to  where  the  leaves  spring  like  a  bright 
green  tuft,  broad,  wavy,  feathery,  and  drooping,  as 
those  of  the  palm  do. 

I  uttered  a  shout — an  '' lo  pcran!" — to  my 
companions,  announcing  that  I  had  gained  the 
summit  before  them,  and  armed  with  my  only 
weapon,  the  teak-wood  spear,  pushed  my  way 
forward  between  the  smooth  steins  of  the 
bananas,  till  I  reached  the  abrupt  brow  of  the 
chff,  from  the  verge  of  which  I  saw,  far  down 
below,  the  brigh     blue  stream  that  rose   on   the 


THE    MYSTERY    SOLVED.  261 

slopes  of  the  great  mountain,  running  through 
the  heart  of  the  isle  and  glittering  in  the  setting 
sun  among  groves  and  ravines,  to  where  it 
poured  in  foam  upon  the  white  sandy  beach, 
and  mingled  with  the  mighty  Southern  Sea. 

I  saw  also  the  figures  of  Chute  and  Carlton, 
as  they  stood  near  the  rock  which  bore  the  in- 
scription, but  they  could  neither  distinguish  me 
nor  hear  my  shout,  which  gave  fresh  ardor  to 
those  whom  I  had  left  half-way  down,  and  who 
now  resumed  their  ascent. 

I  looked  keenly  and  cautiously  about  me  on 
every  side,  but  saw  only  the  slender  and  count- 
less stems  of  the  tall  bananas,  whose  broad 
leaves,  as  they  spread  under  or  over  each  other, 
interrupted  the  rays  of  the  sun,  and  formed  a 
shade  that  w^as  pleasing  and  gloomy. 

Now,  when  about  to  cross  what  seemed  a 
hole  or  hollow  in  the  jungle,  by  stepping  from 
the  strong  tendril  of  one  creeper  to  another,  a 
naked  arm  and  great  human  hand  came  up  from 
amid  the  mass  of  leaves  ! 

I  was  seized  by  the  right  foot,  and  in  an  in- 
stant found  myself  dragged  down  through  foli- 
age and  intertwisted  plants  —  down  —  down  — 
I  knew  not  where ;  and  before  I  had  time  oi 
breath  to  cry  or  resist,  I  lay  prostrate  on  my 
back  in  a  hole  —  a  lair  under  the  matted  jungle 
—  with  a  man  above  me,  his  knees  planted  on 
my  breast,  his  strong  hards  upon  my  bare  throat, 


262  DICX    RODNEY. 

and  his  fierce  wild  eyes  glaring  Kke  those  of  a 
hyaena  into  mine. 

Then,  how  terrible  were  my  emotions  on  recog- 
nizing in  the  light  that  fell  through  the  mass  of 
foliage  above,  as  through  a  vine-covered  trellis  — 
now  overspread  with  hair,  as  beard  and  whiskers 
all  were  matted  into  a  mass  —  the  dark  and  fe- 
rocious face  of  Antonio,  whom  I  believed  to  be 
drowned  and  lying  at  the  bottom  of  the  sea  — 
Antonio  el  Cubano  I 

"  Silenzio !  "  said  he,  in  a  low  voice,  like  the 
hiss  of  a  serpent  in  my  ear ;  but  the  injunction 
was  unnecessary,  for  so  completely  was  I  taken 
by  surprise  —  so  utterly  at  his  mercy,  and  so  des- 
titute alike  of  breath  or  weapon  —  that  resist- 
ance was  impossible. 

Perceiving  that  I  was  almost  strangled  he  re- 
laxed his  fierce  grasp  a  little,  but  still  kept  the 
sharply  pricking  point  of  his  knife  at  my  throat, 
as  a  hint  to  remain  quiet. 

It  would  be  impossible  for  me  to  describe  the 
emotions  of  my  soul  during  this  time,  which 
seemed  an  eternity  to  me  !  Utter  fear  was  one, 
for  I  thought  the  fellow  had  something  super- 
natural —  something  truly  of  the  demon  —  about 
him ;  that  he  could  neither  be  drowned  nor  de- 
stroyed ;  and  I  lay  still  in  that  dark  hollow,  pant- 
ing in  his  fierce  clutch  without  a  thought  of  re- 
sistance. 

Now  I  heard  my  name  sliouiea  lepeatedly 


THE   MYSTERY   SOLVED.  263 

•*  Rodney  —  Mr.  Rodney  —  Dick  Rodney  — 
where  are  you  ?  "  ^ 

It  was  Tom  Lambourne  and  others,  my  com- 
panions, who  had  now  attained  the  summit  of 
the  rock,  and  were  scrambling  over  the  jungle, 
and  pushing  between  the  stems  of  the  bananas, 
searching  for  me,  rather  than  for  the  first  object 
of  such  mystery. 

My  disappearance  alarmed  them. 

"  Can  he  have  gone  adrift  over  the  bluff,"  I 
heard  Tom  Lambourne  say,  "  or  is  he  only  hav- 
ing a  game  with  us  by  hiding  himself?  " 

"  Oh  yes  I  —  that  is  it,"  replied  Probart,  the 
carpenter ;  "  he  can't  have  gone  aloft  into  one  of 
these  bananas,  for  they  are  as  clear  of  branches 
as  a  spare  topmast ;  so  let  us  sheer  off  to  the 
mate,  and  Mr.  Rodney  will  soon  come  down 
after  us." 

"  Well,  my  lads,  there  are  neither  wild  men 
nor  wild  beasts  here,"  said  Lambourne  ;  "  so  we 
shall  return  back  to  Master  Hislop,  who  is  hang- 
ing in  the  wind  halfway  down,  and  then  be  off 
to  the  hut.  We've  earned  a  stiff  glass  of  grog 
by  this  bout,  anyhow." 

My  emotions  became  almos-t  suffocating,  when 
I  heard  them  turn  away  to  descend  and  rejoin 
Hislop  without  me. 

I  saw  and  heard  them  pass  and  repass  over  us, 
the  creepers  of  the  jungle  yielding  with  their 
weight. 


264  DICK    RODNEY. 

The  leg  and  foot  of  one,  named  Henry  War- 
ren, came  down  through  the  green  network  of 
leaves,  and  actually  touched  me. 

I  drew  a  long  gasping  breath,  and  the  atro- 
cious Cubano,  believing  I  was  about  to  cry 
aloud,  compressed  my  throat  so  tightly  with  his 
muscular  hands,  that  a  thousand  lights  seemed 
to  flash  before  my  eyes,  and  I  must  have  be- 
come senseless  for  some  minutes,  as  the  next  in- 
cident that  dwells  in  my  memory,  is  seeing  him 
sitting  in  a  crouching  attitude,  with  his  elbows 
on  his  knees ;  his  black-bearded  chin  resting  in 
the  hollow  of  his  right  hand,  and  with  his  knife 
—  his  murderous  Albacete  cuchillo  —  clenched  in 
his  white  teeth,  while  he  surveyed  me  with  a 
strange  and  sardonic  smile  in  his  deeply-set  black 
eyes,  which  glittered  liiie  those  of  a  snake  in  the 
rays  of  sunlight  that  struggled  through  the  woven 
roof  of  leaves  above  us. 

I  heard  no  more  "the  voices  of  my  shipmates. 
They  were  gone,  and  I  was  left  alone  and  un- 
arm.ed  with  this  man  or  devil,  —  as  yet  I  knew 
not  which  he  was ;  but  I  knew  that  if  he  had 
the  will,  he  had  assuredly  the  power,  to  kiU 
and  leave  me  in  his  lair,  or  to  cast  me,  a  man- 
gled heap,  to  the  bottom  of  the  cliff  whereon  he 
lurked. 


A   TERRIBLE   INTERVIEW.  265 


CHAPTER   XXXVI. 

A    TERRIBLE    INTERVIEW. 

He  perceived  the  fear  or  horror  he  excited, 
and  it  seemed  to  amuse  or  flatter  him. 

I  remembered  his  dreams,  his  outcries,  and 
midnight  terrors,  when  in  the  forecastle  bunks  ; 
I  thought  of  poor  Captain  Weston,  of  old  Rob- 
erts the  man-o'-war's  man,  who  disappeared  so 
mysteriously  in  the  night,  and  of  others  whose 
blood  was  upon  this  man's  hands  and  on  his 
soul,  and  my  flesh  crept  with  loathing  at  our 
proximity. 

What  must  his  thouglits  have  been  amid  the 
awful  solitude  of  that  lonely  isle  before  our 
arrival  ?  I  dared  not  attempt  to  imagine  or  to 
analyze  them. 

Why  were  the  waves  so  sparing  —  why  was 
Fate  so  favorable  to  a  wretch  like  this  ?  How 
came  it  to  pass  that  a  life  so  vile  had  been  so 
marvellously  protected?  and  when  would  the 
day  of  retribution  come  ? 

All  these  thoughts  came  upon  me  with  rapid- 
ity. Antonio  seemed  almost  to  read  my  heart, 
for  he  laughed,  and  said  in  Spanish, — 

23 


266  DICK   RODNEY. 

"  El  diabolo !  so  we  meet  again.  Ha!  ha!  1 
suppose  you  thought  —  Ohc  Juan  boho  —  it  waa 
all  over  with  the  Cubano  when  the  studding-sail 
boom  parted,  and  amid  the  laughter  of  these 
English  dogs  I  fell  away  to  leeward  —  to  drown 
—  to  die  in  the  trough  of  the  sea  —  eh  ?  " 

I  did  not  reply  to  the  mocKing  question,  as  I 
was  not  yet  in  possession  of  all  my  faculties. 

"  Aha !  Antonio  el  Cubano  does  not  die  so 
easily,"  resumed  the  Spanish  Creole ;  "  but  now 
what  am  I  to  do  with  you  ?  " 

"  You  will  release  me,  I  hope,  as  I  have  never 
ha'med  you." 

"  For  what  purpose  did  you  come  up  these 
rocks,  hombre  ?  "  he  asked,  with  a  keen  glance. 

"  Only  to  survey  the  island  from  a  new  point 
of  view,"  I  replied,  evasively. 

"  The  top  of  the  mountain  would  be  a  better 
place  for  that  pm'pose,"  he  replied,  grimly. 

"  But  it  is  a  much  more  laborious  ascent." 

"  So  the  Eugenie  has  been  cast  away  ?  " 

"  She  was  struck  by  lightning,  took  fire,  and 
was  burned  to  the  water  edge." 

On  hearing  this,  Antonio  ground  his  sharp 
^eeth,  and  said,  with  a  savage  malediction,  — 

"  Por  grados,  as  I  said  before,  I  will  rid  the 
world  of  you  all !  " 

"  For  myself,"  I  began,  with  some  agita- 
tion  " 

"  K  I  permit  you  to  return  alive  to  these  men," 


A   TERRIBLE   INTERVIEW.  267 

he  replied,  sternly,  "  you  will  enable  them  to  track 
me  out.  But  see  you  tkis,^^  he  added,  showing 
me  a  revolver ;  "  I  will  make  them  all  food  for 
the  sea-gulls  and  the  wild  boars  if  they  attempt 
to  molest  me." 

It  was  one  of  those  which  had  hung  in  Cap- 
tain Weston's  cabin.  It  appeared  to  be  loaded 
and  capped ;  and  though  very  rusty,  was  still 
sufficiently  dangerous.  I  remembered  that  he 
had  put  it  in  his  breast  before  he  fell  overboard. 

"  As  for  you,"  he  resumed,  and  paused. 

"  I  never  harmed  t/ow,  as  you  have  frequently 
said." 

"  But  you  lavg-hed  as  I  swung  at  the  end  of 
the  studding-sail  boom.  It  was  a  fine  joke  to 
see  a  spar,  with  the  world  at  one  end  and  a  poor 
devil  holding  on  at  the  other !  I  can  remember 
that,  senor,  though  you  may  find  it  convenient  to 
forget  it." 

"  I  am  not  aware,  Antonio,  that  I  did  laugh," 
said  I,  in  my  most  conciHatory  tone. 

"  But  I  am  quite  aware  of  it,  demonio,"  said 
he,  furiously. 

"  Oh !  why  am  I  always  doomed  to  meet  this 
man  ?  "  I  exclaimed  bitterly. 

"  True,"  said  he,  with  another  malevolent 
grin,  "  I  am  a  very  horrid  fellow ;  but  we  have 
met  before  we  had  the  good  luck  to  sail  to* 
gether." 

"  Before  —  I  know  it." 


268  DICK   RODNEY. 

« At  Teneriffe,"  said  he ;  "  up  among  the 
mountains." 

"  You  were  the  sentinel  who  stood  at  the 
mouth  of  the  cavern  ?  " 

"  I  was  not^  muchacho." 

«  Who  or  which,  then  ?  " 

"  He  who  was  shot,"  said  he,  grinning. 

"  And  who  fell  into  the  ventana  ?  " 

"  Si,  hombre !  "  (yes,  man)  replied  the  Cubano, 
with  a  shout  of  fierce  laughter. 

Absurd  as  this  statement  was,  it  was  not 
without  a  horrid  effect  upon  me  for  a  moment, 
as  he  added,  — 

"  Par  los  Santos !  it  is  not  so  easy  to  kill  An- 
tonio ! " 

"  Then  I  actually  met  you  on  the  mountain 
side  in  Teneriffe  ?  " 

"  So  it  would  seem.  A  few  of  us  had  been 
ashore  from  the  Costa  Rican  brig,  the  Marshal 
Serrano,  in  search  of  a  diamond  which  is  said  to 
shine  at  night  in  the  rocks  there  ;  but  as  our 
search  was  vain,  we  thought  of  raising  a  few 
silver  doUars  on  you  and  your  companions,  as  aU 
our  trouble  had  gone  for  nothing." 

"  But  how  did  you  reach  this  island  ? "  I 
asked,  willing,  if  possible,  by  conversing  with 
him  to  gain  his  better  mood. 

"  I  was  swept  astern  of  the  brig  when  the 
studding-sail  boom  parted,  but  I  clung  to  it  with 
a  death  clutch,  and  the  waves,  as  they  rose  and 


A   TERRIBLE   INTERVIEW.  269 

fell,  soon  hid  the  Eug-enie  from  me ;  but  before 
that,  every  time  I  rose,  half  blinded,  winking  and 
spluttering  on  the  summit  of  a  wave,  and  saw 
her  sails  and  spars  and  cabin  windows  glittering 
and  looming  large  in  the  clear  twilight,  I  sent  a 
bitter  malediction  after  her.  However,  I  soon 
wearied  of  that,  as  it  spent  my  breath,  and  when 
that  went,  the  water  always  closed  over  my 
head." 

"  Had  you  no  fear,  Antonio  ?  " 

"  Fear  —  of  what  ?  "  he  asked,  scornfully. 

"  Of  death  —  of  drowning,"  said  I,  earnestly. 

"  I  cannot  tell  what  I  felt ;  at  least  I  had  no 
thought  of  swimming,  for  there  was  no  land  that 
I  knew  of  to  swim  to  nearer  than  Brazil,  which 
was  perhaps  fifteen  hundred  miles  distant ;  so  as 
life  is  dear,"  (I  thought  of  the  lives  he  had  de- 
stroyed) "  I  clung  to  the  spar  in  the  hope  of  being 
picked  up  by  some  passing  ship. 

"  I  slipped  off  a  coat,  two  waistcoats,  and  a 
pair  of  boots  which  had  belonged  to  the  captain, 
and  every  nook  of  which  I  had  crammed  with 
money,  watches,  and  other  valuables  of  his  and 
Hislop's "  (and  my  mother's  parting  gift  — 
thought  I),  "  and  with  another  malediction,  I  let 
them  go  to  the  bottom  of  the  sea,  or  the  bellies 
of  the  sharks,  I  cared  not  which. 

"  The  red  sun  had  set,  and  night,  with  all  its 
stars,  came  on.  The  silvered  sea  was  pleasant, 
warm,  and  smooth.     I  felt  certain  I  could  floal 

23* 


270  DICK   RODNEY. 

by  the  spar  all  night,  but  my  sole  fear  was  for  a 
blue  shark,  and  every  thing  that  sparkled  in  the 
water  near  me,  made  me  draw  my  knees  up  to 
my  chin,  and  my  heart  leap  to  my  mouth,  as  I 
expected  to  be  bitten  in  two  or  have  all  the  flesh 
torn  ofi'  my  legs  at  a  mouthful. 

"  By  my  necktie,  I  lashed  my  left  arm  tightly 
to  the  spar,  so  that  if  weariness  came  over  me, 
even  for  a  moment,  it  might  not  be  swept  from 
me,  because,  if  such  an  accident  happened  in  the 
night,  I  might  never  recover  it  again.  So  there 
were  the  studding-sail  boom  and  I  floating,  adrift 
and  alone,  in  the  middle  of  the  South  Atlantic. 

"  I  found  that  we  were  borne  by  a  current  due 
eastward,  and  I  hoped  that  it  would  caiTy  me 
near  some  ship  that  might  be  running  with  it 
toward  the  Cape. 

"  Day  dawned. 

"  And  there,  about  a  Spanish  league  ofT,  I  saw 
this  island,  with  the  light  clouds  floating  midway 
between  its  blue  summit  and  the  golden-colored 
sea.  It  was  so  like  Teneriffe  that  I  could  have 
Bworn  I  saw  the  white  houses  of  Santa  Cruz, 
with  the  ships  at  anchor  in  the  bay,  the  dark 
Valley  of  the  Diamond  opening  inland,  and  the 
Spanish  flag  flying  on  the  old  castle ;  and  so 
strong  is  fancy,  that  par  todos  santos  I  I  did  see 
them  all  for  a  time.  But  some  hours  after,  I  was 
thrown  by  the  waves  with  a  shock  upon  the 
beach,  where  I  lay  long —  I  cannot  tell  how  long 


A   TERRIBLE   INTERVIEW.  27i 

—  in  a  stupor,  exhausted,  worn-out,  and  all  but 
dead." 

"  It  is  a  strange  story,"  said  I,  as  the  Cubano, 
who  told  it  in  very  good  Spanish,  paused  — 

"  As  I  came  back  to  the  world,"  he  resumed, 
"  savage  and  bloody  thoughts  occurred  to  me  ! 
Again  I  was  swinging  above  the  waves  at  the 
boom-end ;  again  I  saw  all  your  exulting  faces 
line  the  bulwark  of  the  Eugenie  ;  again  I  was  in 
the  sea ! 

"  Then,  horrid  monsters,  red-eyed  and  covered 
with  shining  bristles,  were  about  to  devour  me. 
I  felt  their  cold  noses  and  their  hot  breaths  upon 
my  face ;  and  with  a  yell  of  terror,  I  half  rose  up 
to  find  myself  lying  high  and  dry  above  the  tide- 
mark,  but  among  the  sea-weed  and  shingle,  blub- 
ber, star  and  jelly-fish  of  a  warm  beach,  on  which 
the  evening  sun  was  shining  ;  and  that  the  bristly 
monsters  of  my  dreams  were  a  herd  of  wild  boars 
in  council  (consejo)  about  devouring  me;  but 
they  scampered  into  the  woods  when  slowly  and 
feebly  I  staggered  up,  like  one  after  a  long  de- 
bauch. 

"  My  left  arm  was  still  lashed  to  the  boom, 
from  which  I  now  released  it. 

"  As  I  stood  erect,  shore  and  cliff,  sea  and 
mountain,  swam  round  me,  and  then  I  became 
assailed  by  thirst  and  hunger. 

"  The  nearest  spring  fully  relieved  one  longing, 
and  a  wild  gourd,  which  I  nearly  devoured,  sat- 


27-4  DICK   RODNEY. 

isfied  the  other.  I  remained  long  in  thought, 
considering  where  I  had  been  cast,  and  as  night 
came  on,  and  the  moon  arose,  the  fear  of  sava- 
ges or  wild  animals  made  me  climb  into  a  tree. 

"  I  had  no  clothes  but  what  you  see  ;  a  pair 
of  tattered  calziones  de  marinero  (sailor's  trou 
sers),  and  my  sash  ;  but,  diabolo  !  did  I  not  ut 
ter  a  shout,  when,  on  examining  it,  I  found  that 
in  the  folds  there  were  still  my  knife  —  my  old 
Albacete  knife  —  and  one  of  the  captain's  revolv- 
ers, with  a  little  tin  ca?e,  which  I  had  taken  from 
his  cabin.  I  then  conceived  that  it  might  con- 
tain jewellery  —  now  I  hoped  it  was  food — a 
case  of  sardines  at  the  least ! 

"  It  was  soldered  and  water-tight,  so  I  forced 
the  lid  with  my  knife,  and  found  that  it  contained 
caps  and  ammunition  for  the  revolver ! 

"  Thus,  without  fear,  I  supplied  myself  with 
food,  until  the  arrival  of  your  crew  upon  the  is- 
land. I  was  hidden  among  some  mangroves  on 
the  day  when  the  long-boat  came  into  the  creek. 
I  knew  you  all,  and  my  heart  swelled  with  rage 
as  I  covered  you  in  succession  with  this  pistol ; 
but  as  every  charge  was,  perhaps,  a  day's  food 
to  me,  and  I  valued  my  scanty  ammunition  more 
than  your  wretched  L'ves,  I  spared  them,  intend- 
ing to  cut  you  off  otherwise,  when  any  straggler 
came  within  reach  of  my  knife ;  and,  as  you 
know,  with  a  large  stone,  I  nearly  marred  forever 
the  seamanship  of  the  contra-maestre.  So  that's 
all  my  yarn,  and  what  do  you  think  of  it  ?  " 


A   TERRIBLE   INTERVIEW.  273 

"  I  think  that  when  Heaven  has  so  nniracu- 
lously  spared  you,  Antonio,  your  mind  should 
have  other  thoughts  than  vengeance  now." 

The  dark  Cubano  gnashed  his  white  teeth,  and 
laughed  bitterly ;  but  now,  by  his  story,  the  dis- 
appearance of  the  boom  from  the  mountain-top, 
the  thefts  from  our  bread-bag,  the  alleged  pistol 
reports,  and  those  appearances  of  a  human  fig- 
ure on  the  bluffs  in  the  moonlight,  the  wounded 
goat,  and  every  thing  else  which  had  so  greatly 
perplexed  us  of  late,  was  completely  accounted 
for ;  and  fortunately  for  me,  in  the  relation  of  his 
adventures,  the  Cubano  had  talked  himself  into 
a  state  of  comparative  equanimity. 

"  Now,"  said  I,  rising,  "  you  will  permit  me  to 
go,  Antonio ;  and  if  you  do,  I  promise  to  leave 
you  a  dozen  of  biscuits  to-morrow  on  the  rock 
at  the  foot  of  the  cHff." 

"  As  a  ransom  ?  " 

"  Yes." 

"  Well,  biscuits  are  more  valuable  than  golden 
doubloons  here ;  but  might  they  not  be  a  snare  ?  " 
he  asked,  with  a  savage  gleam  in  his  eyes. 

"I  swear  it  is  not  I"  I  exclaimed,  with  the 
gi-eatest  earnestness. 

"  Bueno  —  very  well — you  may  go.  You  see 
how  I  am  armed ;  so  tell  the  contra-maestre  and 
his  men  that  if  they  attempt  to  molest  me,  they 
shall  share  the  fate  of  those  who  died  in  the  brig. 
So  vaya  —  begone!" 


274  DICK   RODNEY. 

This  was  all  said  in  Spanish  —  he  had  spoken 
nothing  else  —  and  not  without  a  wild  dignity 
of  manner  that  was  rather  impressive. 

I  lost  no  time  in  creeping  or  clambering  out 
of  his  hiding-place. 

"  Buenos  noches,''  said  I,  for  the  sun  was  now 
set;  and  not  without  fear  that  Antonio  might 
change  his  wayward  mind,  and  send  a  bullet 
through  my  back,  I  scrambled,  rolled,  ran,  and 
went  at  times  headlong  and  endlong  down  the 
back  of  the  cliff  in  my  anxiety  to  get  beyond  his 
reach,  and  rejoin  my  companions,  whom  I  found 
debating  on  my  disappearance  and  assembled  in 
solemn  conclave  near  the  hut,  where  Burnet,  the 
Bhip-cook,  was  roasting  a  kid  for  supper,  and 
where  I  was  received  by  a  shout  of  welcome. 


THE   FATA   MORGANA.  275 


CHAPTER    XXXVII. 

THE    FATA    MORGANA. 

The  former  horror  of  my  companions  for  An- 
tonio was  now  revived  and  increased  by  the  mys- 
tery of  his  almost  supernatural  escape,  and  their 
eyes  wandered  upward  to  the  brow  of  the  steep 
cliff  whereon  he  lurked.  It  was  visible  about 
two  miles  from  where  we  were  assembled  on  the 
beach,  and  presented  a  rugged  and  savage  out- 
line. 

Some  of  them,  among  whom  were  Hislop  and 
Probart  the  carpenter,  urged  that  at  all  hazards 
we  should  still  attempt  to  storm  his  nest,  and 
punish  him  by  lynch  law. 

"  With  his  revolver,  rusty  as  it  is,"  said  I,  "  he 
is  as  strong  as  he  was  when  on  board  the  Eugenie^ 
and  when  he  held  the  cabin  against  us  aU ;  he 
could  shoot  each  of  us  down  at  leisure,  and  with  his 
knife  finish  what  the  bullet  might  leave  undone." 

"  We  can  fire  the  jungle,"  said  Tattooed  Tom, 
"  and  burn  him  out  like  a  rat." 

Others  proposed  that  we  should  act  as  we  had 
hitherto  done  —  keeping  a  strict  watch  upon  our 
boat  and  property,  and  permitting  Antonio   to 


276  DICK-RODNEY. 

remain  unmolested  until  the  arrival  of  a  ship,  to 
whose  captain  we  shoi  Id  commit  the  whole  affair. 

We  came  to  no  decision,  but  talked  a  great 
deal  while  supping  on  the  roasted  kid  in  the 
moonlight  at  the  door  of  the  hut ;  but  ere  long 
there  occurred  an  incident  so  strange,  and  ap- 
parently so  unaccountable,  that  it  soon  decided 
the  intentions  of  our  crew. 

The  moon  had  risen,  as  it  only  rises  in  these 
latitudes,  with  the  brilliance  of  day,  and  with  a 
white  light  that  is  dazzlingly  pure.  From  where 
we  were  squatted  among  the  sea-grass  that  bor- 
dered the  shore,  the  whole  sweep  of  the  bight  or 
bay  which  we  had  first  entered,  and  on  the  mar- 
gin of  which  we  had  built  our  hut  beside  the 
rocks,  could  be  seen  vividly  in  all  its  details. 

It  was  an  opening  of  about  two  miles  from 
headland  to  headland.  Each  of  these  were  bold 
and  rugged  bluffs  of  great  height  —  one  being 
that  stupendous  rock  which  was  tufted  with  trees, 
and  which  (with  the  mountain  now  shrouded  in 
light  clouds)  we  had  first  descried  from  the  sea. 

The  beach  between  was  a  complete  bow  of 
white  sand,  beyond  which  were  thick  groves  of 
trees,  and  some  wild  palmettoes  that  tufted  the 
dark  rocks  which  formed  the  horns  of  the  bay. 

In  a  straight  line  from  each  of  these  horns  ran 
a  slender  ridge  of  snow-white  surf,  that  was  for- 
ever boiling  up,  rolling  and  breaking  over  a  hid- 
den coral  reef,  or  sandbank.     Within  it  the  bay, 


THE  FATA  MORGANA.  277 

and  without  it  the  sea,  were,  on  this  night,  smooth, 
waveless,  and  calm  as  the  cloudless  sky,  whose 
deep  immensity  of  blue  was  mirrored  in  them. 

There  was  scarcely  a  breath  of  wind  to  stir  the 
pendent  forest  leaves. 

I  have  been  somewhat  minute  in  describing 
all  this,  in  consequence  of  the  phenomenon  which 
occurred  on  this  night,  and  thus  fixed  the  features 
of  the  scene  in  my  memory. 

It  might  have  been  about  the  hour  of  ten,  and 
we  were  still  loitering  on  the  moonlit  beach, 
when  the  cry  of  "  A  sail  in  sight  I "  made  every 
heart  leap  wildly  and  with  hope. 

'Twas  Tom  Lambourne  who  spoke,  but  every 
eye  caught  the  ship  at  once,  and  even  those  who 
had  been  dozing  on  the  warm  sand  or  within  the 
hut  were  awake  and  on  the  beach  in  a  moment, 
stretching  their  hands  toward  her  with  joy  and 
exultation,  but  the  aspect  of  the  ship  gradually 
changed  all  this  mto  suspense  and  utter  bewilder- 
ment. 

She  was  a  large  square-rigged  vessel  —  a  ship 
running  close-hauled  on  the  port-tack  (to  use  a 
man-o'-war  phrase)  and  with  nearly  all  her  can- 
vas set. 

She  was  about  four  miles  off  the  reef  at  the 
entrance  of  the  bay,  and  was  bearing  directly 
toward  it.  Her  canvas  glimmered  like  snow  in 
the  moonshine,  and  we  could  see  the  red  lights 
of  her  cabin  windows  flash  at  times  up"n  the 

24 


278  DICK   RODNEY. 

sea  astern,  and  the  whiteness  of  her  long  flush 
deck,  as  she  careened  before  the  breeze. 

Yet  how  was  it,  we  all  asked,  that  there  was 
not  a  breath  of  wind  with  us  ? 

"  Perhaps  she  brings  it  with  her,"  suggested 
Hislop. 

"  And  how  came  it  to  pass  that  she  appeared 
right  in  the  offing  and  outside  the  bay  all  at 
once  ?  "  asked  Tom  Lambourne. 

"  She  must  have  rounded  the  high  bluff  while 
we  were  all  palavering,"  said  Probart. 

Nothing  more  was  said  for  a  time,  but 
whether  it  was  the  effect  of  imagination  or  of  an 
overstrained  eyesight,  I  know  not,  she  seemed  to 
melt  as  it  were  in  the  brightness  of  the  moon- 
shine—  to  become  so  indistinct  that  we  could 
see  the  line  of  the  horizon  through  her  topsails ; 
and  next  it  seemed  as  if  her  hull,  her  spars,  and 
rigging,  were  edged  with  bright  prismatic  hues. 

But  on  she  came,  right  for  the  bay,  braced 
sharp  to  the  wind ;  and  now  we  saw  her  sail- 
trimmers  set  the  flying  jib  and  haul  the  spanker 
further  aft  to  steady  her  steerage. 

At  that  moment  the  sea  assumed  a  singularly 
luminous  aspect ;  and  now  she  was  but  a  mile 
off  the  surf-beaten  reef. 

On  came  the  large  ship,  with  every  thing  set 
aloft  and  alow  —  a  cloud  of  white  canvas  from 
her  deck  to  her  ti'ucks ;  but  that  which  puzzled 
us  most  and   silenced   us  all,  was  the  circum* 


THE   FATA   MORGANA.  279 

Stance  that  although  there  was  not  a  breath  of 
wind  to  stir  the  leaves  on  shore,  as  she  ap- 
proached she  careened  well  over,  like  a  vessel 
under  the  influence  of  a  fine  spanking  breeze  — 
rising  and  falling  regularly  and  gracefully,  as  if 
she  rode  over  the  heaving  of  a  succession  of  long 
waves  —  her  courses,  top-sails,  topgallant-sails, 
royals,  headsails,  and  spanker,  all  bellying  out  — 
the  leaches  forming  complete  arcs  over  her  deck, 
her  loose  rigging  all  blown  out  in  bends,  and  yet 
there  was  not  an  inch  of  foam  under  her  forefoot, 
and  she  left  no  wake  astern  upon  the  sea. 

What  mystery  was  this  ? 

She  was  like  the  mere  reflection  of  a  ship  cast 
by  a  magic  lantern  on  a  wall,  save  that  she 
seemed  instinct  with  life,  for  we  had  seen  fresh 
canvas  set  upon  her,  while  her  royals  and  topgal- 
lant-sails shivered  at  times,  as  if  the  breeze  we 
could  not  feel  failed  with  her  somewhat  aloft,  or 
the  hand  at  her  wheel  was  unsteady,  and  unable 
to  keep  her  full  and  by.  Then,  just  as  she  ap- 
proached the  entrance  of  the  little  bay,  all  her 
cabin  lights  went  out ! 

"  She  will  be  ashore  on  the  reef  if  she  drawj 
deep ! "  cried  every  voice.  But  no !  she  glided 
over  it  or  through  it,  without  shivering,  shock,  oi 
hindrance,  and  ran  into  the  bay. 

"  Her  false  keel  must  have  gone  through  it 
like  a  knife,"  said  Lambourne,  with  amazement. 

"  Perhaps  her  draught  of  water  is  small,"  sug- 


280  DICK   RODNEY. 

gested  the  carpenter,  while  the  excitement  of 
our  men  increased  every  moment. 

"  Why  don't  the  lubbers  take  some  canvas  off 
her  ?  "  exclaimed  one. 

"  Or  heave  her  in  the  wind  ?  "  added  another. 

"  There's  the  jib-sheet  let  fly :  down  royals 
and  in  topgallant-sails !  Why  don't  you  heave 
her  in  the  wind  ?  Ready  your  anchors !  "  cried 
Hislop  loudly  in  his  astonishment,  as  he  shouted 
to  those  on  board,  and  rushed  mid-leg  into  the 
water.  "  Heavens  I "  he  added,  "  she  still  bears 
on,  cracking  under  every  thing!  She  will  be 
ashore  in  a  minute,  and  then  aU  her  sticks  will 
snap  by  the  board  like  tobacco-pipes ! " 

A  cry  escaped  us  all  as  her  flying  jib-boom 
appeared  right  over  a  grove  of  little  trees ;  then 
her  bow  touched  the  white  sandy  beach ;  but 
there  was  neither  shock  nor  pause  as  she  seemed 
to  sail  right  on  and  inland,  still  careening  over 
and  still  rising,  falling,  and  heaving,  as  if  upon 
the  sea. 

As  I  gazed  upon  her  a  strange  and  paralyzing 
sensation  came  over  me,  and  all  my  faculties 
became  frozen.  The  profound  silence  of  the 
scene,  the  calm  landscape  of  the  moonlit  isle, 
and  the  noiselessness  of  the  ocean,  made  us 
stare  at  her  and  at  each  other  as  men  in  a 
trance.  My  breath  became  suspended,  my  heart 
seemed  to  stand  still  in  all  its  pulses,  while 
this   mysterious  —  this     most    spectral    ship  — 


THE   FATA   MORGANA.  281 

passed  before  us  like  a  living  thing,  and  then 
melted  away  in  the  moonshine,  apparently  right 
under  the  cliff  of  Antonio,  leaving  us  to  gaze  at 
each  other,  in  doubt  as  to  whether  we  were  mad 
or  not. 

Hislop  was  the  first  to  recover  himself,  and 
striking  his  hands  together,  with  the  air  of  one 
to  whose  astonishment  had  succeeded  the  bitter- 
ness of  a  deep  disappointment,  he  exclaimed,  — 

"  It  is  only  the  phenomenon  called  Fata  Mor- 
gana !  " 


24« 


282  DICK   RODNEY. 


CHAPTER  XXXVIII. 

MAROONED. 

It  is  impossible  for  me  to  describe  the  blank 
astonishment,  or  rather  the  intense  consternation, 
of  our  men  on  the  disappearance  of  this  ves- 
sel, which  was  the  object  of  so  many  hopes  and 
wishes. 

Some  time  elapsed  before  the  poor  fellows 
rallied  sufficiently  to  speak  on  the  subject ;  and 
meanwhile,  there  flashed  upon  my  memory,  some 
strange  and  weird  old  Celtic  tales,  which  a  High- 
land boy  at  Eton  was  wont  to  tell  us,  of  ships 
which  in  the  days  of  Ossian,  traversed  the  steep 
hills  and  the  salt  lochs  of  Morven  with  equal  fa- 
cility. 

"  It  is  a  ship  —  or  rather  the  representation  of 
a  veritable  ship  —  which  cannot  be  far  off  the 
island,  and  is  making  for  it  at  this  moment," 
said  Hislop,  emphatically. 

"  How  far  off  do  you  think  she  is,  sir  ?  "  asked 
Hugh  Chute,  mockingly. 

"  Perhaps  twenty  miles  —  perhaps  a  hundred 

-it  is  impossible  to  say." 

"  Perhaps  ten  thousand  ?  "  queried  Tom  Lam- 
bourne,  with  great  irritation. 


MAROONED.  283 

«  It  was  the  ship  of  the  Flying  Dutchman  !  " 
said  Probart,  the  carpenter. 

"  I've  seen  many  a  queer  thing  in  my  time, 
but  never  the  like  of  this  before  ! "  exclaimed 
Carlton. 

"  Though  foul  weather  don't  matter  much  to 
us  here,  it  will  be  sure  to  follow  ;  —  so  I  say, 
mates,"  resumed  Probart,  "  it  was  the  Flying 
Dutchman  and  nought  else  !  " 

"  Vanderdecken  or  the  devil  come  for  Anto- 
nio," added  Ned  Carlton  ;  "  and  whether  he  has 
shipped  aboard  that  craft  or  not,  hang  me  ship- 
mates, if  we  should  stay  another  hour  on  the 
island  with  it,  or  with  him,  or  where  such  things 
are  seen." 

"  Yes,  yes,"  said  all  the  rest ;  "  let  us  take  to 
the  long-boat  again,  and  sheer  off." 

"  For  where  ?  "  asked  Hislop,  coming  forward. 

"Anywhere,"  replied  Lanibourne,  sulkily. 

"Stuff!  You  must  hang  on  by  the  island,  or 
it  will  be  the  worse  for  you/'  responded  the  wary 
mate. 

"How  will  it  be  worse  for  us?"  asked  Pro- 
bart. 

"  In  more  ways  than  one." 

"Indeed!" 

"Yes.     And  moreover,  it  is  my  orders." 

"Lookee,  now,  Master  Hislop,"  said  Henry 
Warren,  our  oldest  seaman,  with  great  gravity, 
"in  everything  that  is  reasonable,  I  have  obeyed 


284  DICK   RODNEY. 

you,  and  I  will  still  obey  you  aU  the  same  as  if 
the  deck  of  the  Eug-enie  was  under  our  feet,  and 
the  blue  water  round  us  ;  but  as  for  living  on 
this  here  'chanted  island  for  a  longer  spell,  with 
a  murdering  villain  like  the  Spaniard  Antonio, 
who  can  make  ships  sail  on  sea  and  land  alike, 
for  all  the  world  like  pictures  in  a  lantern  or  a 
penny  show,  is  more  than  flesh  and  blood  can 
bear ;  so  I  say,  mates,  let  us  embark  all  our  pro- 
visions, set  sail,  clap  dry  nippers  on  our  oars,  and 
make  out  Gough's  Island,  or  Tristan  da  Cunha, 
leaving  the  devil  and  Antonio  to  keep  company 
here  as  long  as  they  please  —  and  that  is  likely 
to  be  long  enough,  I  can  tell  you." 

"  Tristan  da  Cunha  can't  be  above  three  hun- 
dred miles  off","  added  Probart ;  and  the  proposi- 
tion met  with  such  universal  approbation,  that 
Marc  Hislop  became  seriously  alarmed. 

He  begged  the  crew  to  listen  to  him  ;  but  they 
did  so  with  evident  reluctance  and  impatience, 
muttering  the  while,  and  twitching  their  hats  and 
trousers. 

He  said  every  thing  he  could  think  of  to  as- 
sure them  that  the  ship  they  had  seen  was  quite 
an  optical  illusion ;  and  his  arguments,  though 
they  might  have  been  convincing  enough  to  the 
old  Dominican  friar,  Antonio  Minasi,  who  thrice 
saw  the  Fata  Morgana  in  the  Straits  of  Messina, 
or  to  Sir  David  Brewster,  they  totally  failed  to 
assure  Tattooed  Tom,  old   Probart  our  carpen- 


MAROONED.  285 

ter,  Jack  Burnet  the  cook,  and  others,  that  it  was 
merely  a  natural  phenomenon,  to  be  accounted 
for  through  some  form  of  dioptrical  refraction, 
by  means  of  which  a  ship  sailing  on  one  part  of 
the  ocean  might  be  reflected  on  another,  or,  as 
we  had  just  seen,  even  on  the  land  itself. 

"  I  assure  you,  my  lads,"  he  continued,  "  she 
was  the  representation  of  a  vessel  now  under  sail 
elsewhere.  You  all  saw  that  the  sea  and  bay 
were  calm  as  glass,  that  the  ship  was  braced 
sharp  to  the  wind,  with  her  port  tacks  aboard, 
while  we  had  none,  not  even  a  catspaw  on  the 
water,  or  a  leaf  stirring  on  shore.  You  saw  that 
she  careened,  as  if  beneath  its  influence,  and  rose 
and  fell  as  if  running  through  a  heavy  sea.  You 
saw  the  cabin  lights  go  out,  and  the  flying-jib 
hoisted.  Thus  it  was  quite  evident  that  by 
something  indescribable  in  the  state  of  the  at- 
mosphere, her  form  and  motions  were  taken  up 
elsewhere,  and  mirrored  here." 

"  I  don't  understand  all  this  fine  talk,"  said 
Tom  Lambourne,  sulkily,  "  and  I  don't  care  if  I 
never  do.  I  ain't  a  scholar,  but  a  hardworking 
foremast-man,  that  has  seen  every  land  under  the 
sun.  So  by  your  leave,  or  without  it,  we  shall 
make  the  long-boat  ready  for  sea.  Come,  my 
lads ;  we  shall  fill  the  watercasks  at  the  spring 
yonder,  and  get  what  remains  in  the  bread  bags, 
with  all  the  other  stuff  we've  collected,  aboard." 

"  Hurrah !  "  cried  the  crew,  "  hun-ah  for  blue 
water ! " 


286  DICK   RODNEY. 

"  Get  the  mast  stepped,  and  all  the  gear  ready ; 
we'll  be  at  sea  in  an  hour,  or  my  name  ain't 
Tattooed  Tom  Lambourne." 

"  Rodney,"  said  Hislop,  turning  to  me,  bit- 
terly, "  Goethe  says  that  painting  and  tattooing 
are  natural  symptoms  —  the  savage  hankering 
after  the  brute  —  and  faith,  I  begin  to  think  so." 

Old  Tom  Lambourne  only  half  understood 
the  remark  ;  but  it  stung  him  deeply. 

"  I  don't  deserve  this  at  your  hands.  Master 
Hislop,"  said  he ;  "  and  it  ain't  manly  to  upbraid 
a  poor  fellow  with  his  misfortunes  when  ship- 
wrecked among  savages,  and  I  tell  you  so  —  for 
all  your  book-learning,"  he  added,  bitterly. 

"  You  are  right,  Tom,  and  I  am  wrong.  Par- 
don me,  old  ship-mate,"  said  Hislop,  as  they 
shook  hands. 

So  thoroughly  were  our  companions  scared  by 
the  recent  spectral  appearance,  which  they  con- 
nected in  some  way  with  the  dreadful  ciiaracter 
of  Antonio  el  Cubano,  that  they  at  once  com- 
menced with  alacrity  the  preparations  for  put- 
ting to  sea. 

It  may  be  that  somewhat  of  the  professional 
restlessness  of  sailors  confirmed  their  resolution. 

They  were  already  tired  of  their  sojourn  on 
the  island,  and  inspired  by  the  desire  of  reaching 
Tristan  da  Cunha,  which  is  inhabited  by  about 
eighty  families  of  Portuguese,  English,  and  mu- 
lattoes,  among  whom  Hislop  assured  them  they 


MAROONED.  287 

might  linger  long  enough  before  they  were  taken 
off  by  a  passing  ship  —  quite  as  long  as  if  they 
remained  on  the  Isle  of  Alphonso  —  and  where, 
for  subsistence,  they  would  be  forced  to  work  as 
day  laborers  in  the  savannas  and  on  the  high- 
ways. 

As  for  the  Island  of  Diego  Alvarez,  our  Scotch 
mate,  who  seemed  to  know  every  thing,  assured 
them  that  it  produced  only  moss  and  sea-grass, 
and  that  if  cast  there  they  would  die  of  starva- 
tion. Moreover,  without  chart  or  compass,  how 
could  they  hope  to  steer  with  certainty  in  any 
dh-ection  ? 

They  might  all  perish  in  detail  by  the  most 
dreadful  deaths  in  their  open  boat,  gasping  with 
unquenched  thirst  under  the  blaze  of  a  tropical 
sun.  He  said  much  more ;  but  they  would  lis- 
ten to  nothing  save  their  own  fears  and  restlesa 
impulses. 

I,  too,  was  weary  of  the  island ;  and  though 
feehng  all  the  despondency  that  follows  a  severe 
disappointment  on  the  disappearance  of  the  illu- 
sory ship,  I  in  no  way  shared  the  wild  and  ill- 
regulated  wishes  of  the  crew,  though  assured 
that  I  would  be  compelled  to  foUow  their  despe- 
rate fortunes. 

Hislop  made  a  last  effort  to  convince  them 
that  all  they  had  seen  was  only  the  reflection  of 
a  real  object  produced  by  natural  causes,  such  as 
the  dead  calm  that  prevailed  upon  the  sea  —  the 


288  DICK   RODNEY. 

moon  shining  from  a  point  where  its  incident 
ray  formed  an  angle  of  45^  on  the  water  —  the 
influence  of  sahne  and  other  effluvia  suspended 
in  the  air,  producing,  as  in  a  catoptric  theatre,  a 
vision  by  reflection;  but  finding  that  they  heeded 
all  this  no  more  than  the  wind,  he  fairly  lost  his 
temper,  and  bade  them  "  go  and  be  hanged  for 
stupid  dolts." 

It  was  perfectly  natural  that  all  this  should 
sound  strange  to  unlettered  seamen ;  so  they 
continued  their  preparations  with  all  speed  and 
in  silence,  for  they  all  loved  Hislop,  and  were 
loth  to  offend  him. 

Two  bags  of  bread  which  still  remained,  the 
kegs  of  rum,  and  four  casks  newly  filled  with 
fresh  water,  were  put  on  board  the  longboat,  to- 
gether with  all  our  arduously  collected  store  of 
kids'  flesh,  boars'  hams,  and  sea-fowls'  eggs. 

The  oars,  boat  tackle,  and  blankets  were  also 
shipped,  and  the  whole  crew  embarked  at  the 
mangrove  creek,  where  the  boat  lay. 

HUslop  and  I  still  lingered ;  so  we  were  told 
peremptorily  that  if  we  did  not  come  on  board 
at  once,  they  would  shove  off"  without  us.  Thus 
compelled,  we  stepped  in  most  reluctantly  and 
seated  ourselves  in  the  stern,  and  he  assumed 
the  tiller.  The  oars  were  run  through  the  row- 
locks, and  Lambourne  was  about  to  shove  off", 
when  Probart,  who  had  the  bow  oar,  suddenly 
remembered  that  he  had  left  his  hatchet  near  our 
wigwam,  and  asked  me  to  get  it. 


MAROONED.  289 

I  jumped  ashore,  and  was  proceeding  along 
ihe  beach  for  it,  when  suddenly  I  was  confronted 
by  Antonio,  who  from  a  thicket  had  been  watch- 
ing our  operations  and  departure. 

His  tawny  skin  —  for  he  was  naked  to  the 
waist  —  his  ferocious  aspect,  his  head  of  matted 
hair,  his  colossal  strength,  and  atrocious  charac- 
ter were  not  without  a  due  effect  upon  the  boat's 
crew  at  this  crisis. 

"  Shove  off —  shove  off! "  I  heard  several 
voices  cry  in  the  boat;  "  here  comes  that  dog  of 
a  Cubano." 

I  struggled  with  Antonio ;  but  he  laughed 
loudly,  and  drew  his  pistol  vvdth  the  air  of  one 
who  would  enforce  obedience ;  besides,  his  eyes, 
which  the  tangled  masses  of  his  hair  overhung, 
were  flashing  with  malignant  fire,  as  all  the 
slumbering  devil  was  roused  within  him. 

The  whole  crew  saw  this,  and  I  perceived  that 
Marc  Hislop  made  an  attempt  to  rise  up  and 
spring  overboard  to  my  succor ;  but  as  all  their 
hopes  of  reaching  Tristan  da  Cunha  depended 
entirely  upon  his  skill  and  knowledge  of  naviga- 
tion, he  was  seized  by  Warren,  Chute,  and 
others,  roughly  thrust  down  in  the  stern  sheets, 
and  forcibly  held  there. 

I  saw  now  that  the  fear  and  selfishness  of  the 
rest  prevailed  over  all  that  Hislop,  Lam  bourne, 
and  Carlton  could  urge  ;  for  amid  a  storm  of 
contending  tongues,  I  perceived  the  oars  dipping 


290  DICK  RODNEY. 

in  the  water  again  and  again,  and  flashing  like 
silver  blades  in  the  moonUght  as  they  were 
feathered;  and  the  longboat  with  all  my  com- 
panions, shot  from  the  creek  into  the  bay,  and 
bore  away  to  seaward  about  two  in  the  morn- 
ing, leaving  me  on  the  beach  alone  —  marooned 
with  the  fiendish  Cubano  ! 


A  NEW  DANGER.  291 


CHAPTER   XXXIX. 

A    NEW    DANGER. 

Had  not  Antonio  held  me  fast,  and  menaced 
me  with  his  pistol,  I  would  have  sprung  into  the 
water,  and  undeterred  by  the  sharks  that  were 
forever  gliding  stealthily  about  in  the  bay,  would 
have  swam  after  the  boat ;  for  desperate  though 
the  fortune  of  those  who  were  there,  I  would 
rather  have  shared  it  than  live  on  the  island  of 
Alphonso  with  such  a  companion. 

His  fierce  mocking  laugh  grated  harshly  in  my 
ear,  but  I  heeded  him  not,  and  continued  to  gaze 
after  the  boat  and  the  lessening  forms  of  those 
who  had  abandoned  me,  not  without  a  fond  and 
desperate  hope  that  they  would  return  for  me. 
Every  moment  I  expected  to  see  her  put  about ; 
but  no !  she  held  steadily  on,  till  hull,  and  sail, 
and  crew  were  blended  into  one  little  dark  spot, 
which  ere  long  could  scarcely  be  discerned  on  the 
moonlit  morning  sea. 

Her  course  was  trimmed  north-east,  for  where 
they  supposed  the  isle  of  Tristan  da  Cunha  lay. 
She  had  caught  a  breeze,  and  before  four  o'clock 
in  the  morning,  the  last  vestige  of  her  had  disap- 
peared. 


292  DICK   RODNEY, 

Still  I  did  not  entirely  despair ! 

When  day  dawned,  while  my  eyes  were  al 
most  blinded  by  tears  of  rage  and  bitterness,  1 
clambered  in  haste  to  the  summit  of  the  gi-eat 
bluff,  and  gazed  eagerly  to  seaward,  in  the  hope 
that  the  arguments  or  wishes  of  Hislop,  of  Carl- 
ton, and  of  blunt  old  Tom  Lambourne  might 
have  prevailed,  and  that  I  should  see  her  return- 
ing ;  but  alas  !  there  was  nothing  visible  save  a 
lonely  albatross  skimming  lazily  between  me  and 
the  rising  sun. 

Except  for  the  sake  of  Marc  Hislop  and  one 
or  two  others,  who  in  our  parting  interview  had 
acted  as  my  friends,  I  hoped  —  but  this  was  in 
the  intense  bitterness  of  my  heart,  at  an  aban- 
donment so  cruel  —  that  the  longboat  might 
swamp,  founder,  or  perish,  how  I  cared  not. 

What  was  to  become  of  me  now  ? 

The  boat  might  fall  in  with  some  ship,  and 
thus  afford  me  a  double  chance  of  being  taken  oft 
the  island.  But  would  the  captain  of  this  sup- 
posed ship  bear  up  for  the  land  if  it  lay  far  from 
his  course  ? 

Amid  these  perplexing  thoughts  and  surmises, 
my  greatest  source  of  annoyance  was  the  odious 
companionship  of  the  Cubano. 

I  felt  neither  hunger  nor  sleep,  though  all  the 
preceding  night  I  had  never  closed  an  eye  ;  but 
now  I.  remained  upon  t'le  bluff,  gazing  on  the 
'iunlit  sea,  from  under   the  shadow  of  a  broad- 


A   NEW   DANGER.  293 

leaved  plantain,  until  I  was  roused  in  the  after- 
noon by  Antonio,  who  joined  me. 

^'■Hola  I  mio  muchacho  !  "  (hallo !  my  boy),  he 
exclaimed ;  "  you  promised  me  a  dozen  of  bis- 
cuits if  I  released  you  from  my  hiding  hole  in 
yonder  rock.  Now,  biscuits  are  biscuits  here,  so 
where  are  those  for  which  I  ransomed  you  ?  " 

"  Gone  in  the  boat  with  every  thing  else,"  I  re- 
plied, sulkily  and  sternly. 

«  What !  —  all  ?  » 

"  Every  thing." 

"  What  shall  we  do  when  my  powder  is 
done  ?  " 

"  I  know  not,  and  I  care  not." 

"  There  are  but  ten  charges  left,"  said  he, 
gloomily,  as  he  opened  the  tin  case. 

"  What  is  that  to  me  ?  "  I  asked,  with  grow- 
ing anger. 

"  It  is  this  much  to  you,  that  if  provisions 
fall  short,  I  shall  eat  you ! "  he  replied,  with  a 
fiendish  grin,  accompanied  by  an  emphatic  oath. 
"  Now,  my  fine  fellow,  what  do  you  think  of 
that  ?  " 

The  words  of  the  wretch,  his  herculean  frame 
and  ferocious  aspect,  which  the  wild  life  he  had 
lately  spent  among  the  woods  of  Alphonso  had 
not  improved,  made  me  shudder. 

On  remembering  the  manner  in  which  we  first 
found  him  floating  in  the  open  boat  at  sea,  the 
suspicions  of  Weston,  Hislop,  and  Lambourne 

25* 


294  DICK   RODNEY. 

regarding  the  disappearance  of  a  companion  who 
had  probably  been  with  him  —  suspicions  which 
all  his  future  conduct  seemed  to  confirm,  and 
knowing  all  he  was  capable  of  committing,  my 
heart  sickened  with  disgust  and  apprehension  ; 
but  the  imminence  of  my  own  danger  made  me 
dissemble. 

While  pretending  to  smile  and  to  disbelieve 
him,  I  mentally  considered  how  to  arm  myself, 
or  how  to  deprive  him  of  those  weapons  which, 
when  added  to  his  muscular  strength  and  singu- 
larly brutal  nature,  rendered  him  an  enemy  so 
formidable. 

The  idea  of  swimming  to  one  of  the  adjacent 
isles  occurred  to  me  ;  but  the  straits  between 
were  full  of  foaming  breakers  and  sharks ;  the 
rocks,  moreover,  were  inaccessible,  and  wherever 
I  might  go  Antonio  could  easily  follow. 

I  remembered  the  carpenter's  little  hatchet, 
which  was  stiU  lying  upon  the  beach,  and  re- 
solved to  possess  myself  of  it,  to  conceal  it  about 
me,  and  to  use  it  without  mercy  if  occasion 
served  or  required. 

"  Did  you  hear  me  speak,  you  English 
heathen  ?  "  shouted  Antonio,  striking  me  on  the 
shoulder. 

"  Yes,"  said  I,  shuddering  again  ;  for  in  addi- 
tion to  the  load  of  crime  which  covered  Antonio, 
I  loathed  him  as  the  primary  cause  of  all  our 
misfortunes,  and  of  my  present  misery. 


A  NEW  DANGEK.  295 

"  Bueno  —  then  look  to  it ! "  said  he,  nodding. 

'Look  to  what!" 

"  We  must  take  to  kid-catching,  and  boar- 
hunting,  else  I  may  feed  myself,  as  I  have  done 
before,  with  whatever  comes  most  readily  to 
hand." 

"  Shall  we  not  place  a  signal  again  on  the 
mountain  ?  " 

"  Foi  what  purpose  ?  "  he  asked  with  a  grim- 
ace. 

"  To  attract  a  passing  ship." 

"  Of  what  shall  we  make  it  ?  " 

"  The  studding-sail  boom  —  where  is  it  con- 
cealed ?  " 

At  the  mention  of  the  boom,  the  revengeful 
Cubano  gnashed  his  teeth,  and  replied,  — 

"  I  have  cast  it  where  man's  hand  shall  never 
get  it,  into  a  chasm  on  the  other  side  of  the 
mountain ;  but  voto  I  let  us  go  down  and  repair 
the  hut  those  ladrones  have  left,  and  you,"  he 
added,  with  a  grin,  "  shall  be  my  camarada  de 
casa." 

The  sun  was  now  setting  beyond  the  sea,  and 
the  shadow  of  the  great  mountain  was  falling 
eastward  over  the  island  as  we  began  to  descend 
from  the  bluff,  where  I  had  lingered  so  long,  by 
one  of  the  narrow  and  winding  tracks  made 
through  the  gorse  by  the  wild  goats. 

Hunger  now  assailed  me,  and  saying  I  would 
hasten  forward   and   procure   some   bananas,  I 


296  DICK   RODNEY. 

reached  the  beach  before  Antonio  was  half-way 
down  the  rocks,  and  found  Probart's  hatchet 
where  —  so  unfortunately  for  me  —  he  had  left 
it  in  the  hurry  of  embarkation. 

I  snatched  it  up,  and  as  the  handle  was  short, 
and  the  blade,  though  sharp,  was  small,  I  secm-ed 
it  in  the  waistband  of  my  trousers,  and  buttoned 
my  now  tattered  jacket  over  it,  determined  to 
prove  therewith  the  hardness  of  Antonio's  head 
on  the  first  opportunity. 

An  emotion  of  security  now  filled  my  heart, 
as  I  felt  that  I  had  a  weapon  with  which  to 
strike  at  least  one  blow  in  defence  of  my  life,  if 
it  was  assailed. 


THE   REVOLVER  AGAIN.  297 


CHAPTER   XL. 

THE    REVOLVER    AGAIN. 

As  it  was  alike  dangerous  and  uncomfortable 
to  sleep  under  the  dews  that  descended  after 
sunset,  for  two  nights  after  the  departure  of  the 
boat,  I  was  compelled  to  share  the  wigwam  with 
Antonio,  but  did  so  with  dread  and  loathing,  and 
kept  as  far  away  from  him  as  possible. 

His  dreams,  which  were  full  of  oaths,  ejacula- 
tions, and  frequently  cries  of  "  El  aparicion  !  El 
especlro  !  "  came  on  him  as  of  old  ;  and  as  sleep 
to  me  became  an  impossibility,  I  resolved  to  leave 
him  to  his  own  devices.  Certainly  the  island 
was  large  enough  for  us  both. 

Moreover,  he  had  become  so  sparing  of  his  ten 
charges  of  powder,  that  he  would  not  fire  a  sin- 
gle shot  at  either  bird,  or  goat,  or  wild  boar.  I 
have  since  believed  that  he  saved  them  with  the 
resolution  of  defending  himself  to  the  last,  if 
Hislop  ever  returned  to  arrest  him ;  and  now,  be- 
ing lord  and  master  of  the  whole  island,  and  of 
me  too,  he  exhibited  a  new  phase  of  character. 

He  became  too  lazy  to  procure  food,  and 
forced  me  to  find  it  for  him,  under  threats  of 


298  DICK   RODNEY. 

shooting  me.  Thus  for  two  days  after  the  de- 
parture of  the  boat,  being  totally  incapable  of 
catching  one  of  the  fleet  goats  alone,  and  being 
in  no  way  disposed  to  encounter  singly  one  of 
the  wild  boars,  I  had  to  climb  the  steep  rocks 
above  the  breakers  to  steal  the  sea-birds'  eggs. 

This  feat  I  achieved  with  considerable  peril, 
for  the  birds,  when  roused  from  their  eyries, 
whooped,  screamed,  and  wheeled  in  flocks  and 
circles  about  me,  flapping  their  huge  wings ;  so 
that  once  I  became  so  bewildered,  that  instead 
of  clambering  again  to  the  summit  of  the  cliff",  I 
began  a  descent  toward  the  foaming  sea  below. 

In  reascending,  my  hat  was  blown  away,  and 
with  it  the  wretched  eggs  for  which  I  had  risked 
my  life  and  limbs. 

After  this  event  I  resolved  to  procure  food  for 
myself  alone,  and  instead  of  returning  to  Anto- 
nio, who  usually  loitered  about  the  hut  our  men 
had  left,  I  went  to  the  opposite  side  of  the 
island,  and  found  a  banana  grove,  wherein  I 
took  up  my  quarters. 

The  fruit,  as  it  fell  ripe  from  the  trees,  formed 
my  food,  and  of  the  broad  leaves  and  some 
branches  I  made  a  little  gipsy-like  hut,  wherein 
I  might  sleep  at  night  without  being  drenched 
by  the  baleful  tropical  dew ;  for  of  it,  and  its 
subsequent  fevers  and  ague,  I  had  a  great  dread, 
for  to  become  ill  would  ensure  a  death  of  hunger 
and  thirst. 


THE   REVOLVER   AGAIN.  299 

In  that  place,  which  resembled  the  laii  of  a 
wild  animal,  though  I  had  no  fear  of  the  awful 
solitude  around  me,  I  lay  awake  for  half  the 
night,  listening  to  the  chafing  of  the  surge,  and 
shedding  many  a  bitter  tear  for  my  home  and 
those  who  were  there  —  those  whom  I  might 
never  see  again  —  and  longing,  oh,  how  ear- 
nestly, how  eagerly,  and  how  prayerfully,  for  a 
passing  ship  I 

Anon,  I  would  start  up  and  rush  forth  to  look 
about  me  and  to  listen,  fearing  that  some  craft 
might  heave  in  sight  on  the  other  side  of  the  isle, 
take  off  Antonio,  and  leave  me  I 

Such  a  catastrophe  would,  I  am  assured,  have 
driven  me  distracted.  • 

In  the  wild  life  I  led  there,  on  the  Island  of 
Alphonso,  it  was  strange  how  sharp,  how  keenly 
acute  every  sense  became,  but  more  especially 
those  of  touch  and  hearing. 

I  had  been  thirty-six  hours  without  seeing  my 
pleasant  chum,  the  Cubano,  or  being  near  him 
with  food.  I  knew  that  his  rage  would  be  great, 
and  feeling  myself  unusually  weak,  after  all  the 
mental  excitement  and  bodily  exposure  I  had 
undergone,  necessity  now  compelled  me  to  avoid 
him  strictly,  as  I  was  totally  incapable  of  con- 
tending with  him  in  any  way. 

If  he  found  me,  to  plead  that  I  had  lost  my 
way  or  had  missed  him,  in  a  space  so  small  as 
our  island,  though  wild  and  wooded,  would 
scarcely  prove  an  excuse. 


300  DICK   RODNEY. 

Another  dread  haunted  me,  that  if  a  ship  of 
any  nation,  but  more  especially  of  Spain,  hove 
in  sight,  Antonio,  to  j^ii-ovide  for  his  own  future 
safety,  might  deem  it  necessary  to  dispose  of  me 
forever,  lest  I  should  accuse  him  of  the  many 
crimes  he  had  committed. 

Without  the  evidence  of  Hislop  and  others, 
such  accusations,  if  made  by  me  alone,  would 
have  no  great  weight ;  but  he  might  not  think 
of  that ;  and,  moreover,  was  no  doubt  a  steady 
beUever  in  the  old  buccaneer  maxim,  "  that  dead 
men  tell  no  tales." 

When  searching  for  berries,  about  sunrise,  on 
the  western  side  of  the  isle,  and  while  the  sun, 
though  up,  was  ye4  below  the  great  mountain, 
and  cast  its  shadow  to  the  extreme  horizon  of 
the  hazy  morning  sea,  I  encountered  Antonio  at 
last. 

Stooping  on  my  hands  and  knees,  1  was  turn- 
ing over  the  great  leaves  of  some  creeping  plants 
that  were  unknown  to  me  in  search  of  some  wild 
berries,  which,  as  I  had  seen  the  birds  eat  them, 
must,  I  knew,  be  harmless,  when  a  severe  blow 
on  the  head  almost  stunned  me. 

On  looking  up,  there  stood  Antonio  bending 
over  me,  with  a  savage  scowl  on  his  face,  and 
his  pistol  clubbed  as  if  about  to  repeat  the 
assault.  His  intentions  were  evidently  hostile, 
as  he  placed  a  foot  upon  my  hatchet,  which  lay 
near,  and  his  left  hand  grasped  his  knife. 


THE  REVOLVER  AGAIN.  301 

Every  way  I  was  totally  at  his  mercy ! 

Hunger,  apparently,  had  rendered  him  furious ; 
but  feeling  certain  in  a  moment  that  timidity 
would  do  me  no  service,  I  started  back  and  said 
in  Spanish, — 

"  Villain  I  for  what  have  you  dared  to  strike 


me 


9" 


"  Dared,"  he  reiterated ;  "  ha !  ha !  much  dar- 
ing there  is  about  it." 

"  Yes,  you  dog  of  a  picaro ! " 

"  For  what  reason  did  you  desert  me,  you  rat- 
eriUo  ?  " 

"  Because  I  could  scarcely  procure  food  for 
myself,  and  still  less  for  a  lazy  ruffian  like  you." 

"  Ha !  ha !  I  told  you  what  would  happen 
when  I  wanted  food,"  said  he,  feeling  the  point 
of  his  knife. 

My  blood  ran  cold  at  these  words,  and  I  cast 
a  longing  eye  upon  my  lost  hatchet ;  he  saw  the 
glance,  and  trampled  upon  the  weapon  with  a 
mocldng  laugh. 

"  What  do  you  mean,  Cubano  ?  "  I  asked,  in 
an  almost  breathless  voice. 

"  Simply  this  :  that  as  self-preservation  is  the 
first  law  of  nature,  I  am  bound  to  kiU  you." 

He  had  the  revolver  in  his  hand,  and  while  ne 
cast  a  glance  at  the  caps  on  the  breech,  as  if  to 
see  that  they  were  aU  right,  and  sheathed  his 
knife,  I  made  a  bound  aside,  and  placed  a  ba- 
nana-tree between  us.  The  dastard  fired,  and 
26 


302  DICK   RODNEY. 

the  ball,  as  it  whistled  past,  stripped  off  a  piece 
of  bark. 

In  the  same  manner,  I  escaped  a  second  shot, 
so  Antonio,  finding  that  his  much-prized  ammu- 
nition was  likely  to  be  expended  fruitlessly,  rushed 
'forward  to  use  his  knife. 

The  tendril  of  a  pumpkin  caught  his  left  foot ; 
he  fell  heavily,  and  hurt  himself  severely.  Then, 
darting  past,  I  secured  my  hatchet,  and  rendered 
furious  by  all  that  had  occurred,  and  by  the  im- 
minent danger  which  menaced  me,  a  Mght  seemed 
to  flash  before  my  eyes,  I  trembled  with  rage, 
and  felt  as  if  endued  by  a  supernatural  strength. 

I  was  about  'to  spring  upon  Antonio,  with 
hands,  feet,  and  teeth,  —  to  hew  at  him  with  the 
hatchet  as  I  would  have  hewn  at  a  tree  —  when 
a  new  object  suddenly  caught  my  eye. 

It  was  a  ship  —  but  a  ship  ashore  ! 

"  Cubano,"  I  exclaimed,  in  a  husky  voice, 
« look  there  !  " 

Antonio  looked  in  the  direction  indicated,  and 
pausing  in  his  murderous  intention,  uttered  a 
fierce  laugh  of  satisfaction. 

In  the  rocky  channel  which  opened  between 
the  inaccessible  island  and  ours,  there  lay  the 
wave-beaten  hull  of  a  dismasted  vessel,  which 
must  have  been  drifted  in  over  night,  as  it  was 
certainly  not  there  yesterday,  and  it  was  now 
jammed  hard  and  fast  upon  a  reef  of  rock  that 
connected  them. 


THE  REVOLVER   AGAIN.  303 

This  new  object  changed  at  once  the  terrible 
current  of  the  Cubano's  ideas.  A  grim  smile 
passed  over  his  olive  countenance ;  he  shook 
back  the  elf-like  masses  of  coal-black  hair  which, 
in  Skye-terrier  fashion,  overhung  his  wild  dark 
eyes,  and  sheathing  his  knife,  said,  — 

"  Mio  muchacho  —  come;  I  was  only  joking. 
Yonder  we  shall  find  food,  perhaps,  and  who 
knows  what  more  ?  Come,  it  is  a  bargain  ;  and 
if  you  don't  desert  me,  I  shall  not  molest  you 
again." 

He  proceeded  at  once  toward  the  beach,  and  I 
was  hungry  enough,  and  perhaps  reckless 
enough  now,  to  be  glad  of  a  truce,  and  to  follow 
him,  in  the  hope  of  finding  something  eatable  on 
board. 


304  DICK  RODNEY. 


CHAPTER   XLI. 

A    WATERLOGGED    VESSEL. 

Descending  the  rocks,  which  were  steep  and 
rugged,  we  reached  their  base,  where  a  danger- 
ous and  treacherous  beach  sloped  abruptly  down 
into  the  deep  water.  It  was  covered  with  frothy 
sea-weed,  bright-colored  shells,  strange-looking 
pieces  of  blubber,  and  decayed  fish  of  many 
kinds. 

Over  some  large  misshapen  rocks,  which  were 
covered  by  masses  of  barnacles  and  long  tangles 
of  sea- weed  that  waved  in  the  water,  but  which 
adhered  to  the  stone  with  the  tenacity  of  steel 
bands,  we  reached  —  but  not  without  considera- 
ble difficulty,  and  being  partly  immersed  in  the 
foam  that  boiled  over  the  reef  connecting  the 
islands  —  the  WTCck  that  lay  hard  and  fast  upon 
it. 

By  her  build  she  was  evidently  a  new  Span- 
ish brig  of  somewhere  about  one  hundred  and 
fifty  tons  burden,  and  straight  as  an  arrow 
in  her  sheer  stroke,  which  had  been  painted  yel- 
low. 

Her  masts  were  gone  by  the  board,  and  her 


A   WATERLOGGED    VESSEL.  305 

bowsprit  had  been  snapped  off  near  the  cap. 
Every  vestige  of  tlie  bulwarks  had  long  since 
been  torn  away  by  the  waves  that  had  swept 
over  her ;  and  the  skeleton  row  of  her  timber- 
heads,  the  windlass-bitts,  and  the  booby-hatch, 
alone  remained. 

Her  hull  had  been  swept  of  every  thing  else. 

She  had  evidently  been  long  tossing  to  and 
fro,  perhaps  for  six  months,  exposed  to  wind  and 
weather.  Nearly  every  vestige  of  paint  had  long 
since  been  washed  from  her  hull  by  the  waves, 
or  scorched  from  it  by  the  sun. 

Her  copper  was  thickly  encrusted  with  barna- 
cles, and  coated  with  long  trailers  of  sea-weed. 

Singularly  lonely,  silent,  and  desolate  she 
looked,  as  she  lay  on  the  reef,  heeled  over  to 
starboard,  with  the  bleached  or  washed  ends  of 
her  shrouds  and  rattlins  hanging  from  the  dead- 
eyes  over  the  side  channel-boards  in  the  water ; 
and  then,  to  add  to  the  effect  of  the  whole,  three 
huge  and  lazy  albatrosses  gorged  with  star-fish 
and  blubber,  alighted  on  her  taffrail,  and  flapped 
their  dusky  wings  with  a  melancholy  booming 
sound. 

As  we  clambered  on  board  by  the  ruins  of  the 
main-rigging,  which  hung  pendent  over  the  port- 
side,  an  exclamation  of  disgust  escaped  even 
Antonio  when  we  saw  the  miserable  remains  of 
a  poor  human  being,  hanging  by  the  wasted  and 
bony  legs,  which  were  jammed  in  the  iron  gear 

20* 


306  DICK  RODNET. 

about  the  fore-channel ;  it  had,  when  in  life,  been 
lashed  thereto,  and  now  hung  pendent,  with  the 
head,  arms,  and  body  immersed  in  the  water; 
and  these  relics  had  evidently  been  dragged 
about  with  the  wreck  exposed  to  the  waves, 
the  sun,  the  fish,  and  the  sea-birds  for  many 
months. 

Of  the  crew  we  saw  no  other  traces,  and  their 
probable  fate  .was  left  to  gloomy  conjecture. 

Removing  the  booby-hatch,  we  descended  into 
her  cabin,  and  found  it  half  full  of  water,  amid 
which  the  debris  of  the  lockers  had  been  long 
washed  to  and  fro.  There  were  blankets  and 
clothing,  cushions  and  piUows,  bottles,  glasses, 
cigar-boxes,  Spanish  packs  of  cards  having  cud- 
gels for  clubs,  espados  for  spades  ;  and  there,  too, 
were  charts  and  books  reduced  to  mere  pulp  by 
long  immersion. 

The  skylight  was  gone  ;  but  on  the  cabin-win- 
dows we  still  saw  the  dead-lights,  as  those  ports 
or  shutters  are  named  which  are  usually  shipped 
in  rough  weather  to  prevent  high  seas  from  break- 
ing in. 

The  place  had  a  chiU  feeling  —  a  dreary  and 
desolate  aspect ;  for  many  iTionths  the  water  had 
been  washing  there  from  bulkhead  to  bulkhead 
and  from  stem  to  stern. 

With  the  aid  of  my  hatchet  we  forced  a  pas- 
sage into  the  bread-room,  as  the  locker  wherein 
bread  or  biscuit  is  usually  kept  is  named.    It  was 


A   WATERLOGGED    VESSEL.  807 

entiiely  lined  with  tin,  to  exclude  rats ;  but  this 
liad  failed  to  exclude  water,  for  the  bags  of  bis- 
cuit, which  to  us  would  have  been  more  valuable 
than  sacks  of  diamonds  or  doubloons,  had  all 
been  reduced  to  mouldy  pulp  and  paste  long  ago, 

Antonio  seemed  in  his  element ;  his  eyes  spar- 
kled with  a  lurid  glare ;  his  limbs  appeared  to 
dilate  and  strengthen  as  he  hewed  and  hacked 
away  at  the  panels  and  bulkheads  in  quest  of 
food  and  plunder,  so  he  soon  forced  his  way 
through  the  fore  and  after  holds,  and,  indeed,  over 
all  the  wreck ;  while  the  blows  of  the  hatchet, 
and  the  sound  of  his  voice,  as  he  shouted  and 
swore  to  himself,  sounded  hollow  and  strange 
in  the  hitherto  long-abandoned  ship. 

A  little  examination  proved  her  to  be  a  Spanish 
brig,  timber  laden,  principally  with  mahogany, 
and  completely  waterlogged.  Thus  she  could 
never  sink. 

She  was  probably  from  the  Bay  of  Honduras. 
"We  found  several  coils  of  Manilla  rope  on  board, 
and  some  cocoa-nuts  entire.  She  was  oak-built, 
copper-fastened,  and  coppered  to  the  bends. 

"  She  had  not  made  the  land  in  her  last  voy- 
age," said  Antonio ;  "  and  a  storm  must  have 
overtaken  and  dismasted  her  at  sea." 

"  How  do  you  know  this  ?  "  I  asked. 

"  Because  one  anchor  —  her  best  bower  —  still 
remains  in  the  bow,  and  the  cables  have  not  been 
bent,  but  are  stowed  in  the  tier   below.      Her 


308  DICK    RODNEY. 

working  anchor  and  kedge  have  both  gone  w 
been  sent  overboard  to  lighten  her." 

And  then,  as  if  he  had  wasted  time  enoi  gh, 
Antonio  descended  to  renew  the  ransacking  of 
the  vessel ;  and  ere  long  I  heard  him  utter  a  shrill 
howl  of  delight. 

He  had  discovered  a  square  box,  entirely  filled 
with  case-bottles  of  Jamaica  rum !  To  one  who, 
like  him,  had  been  so  long  deprived  of  his  favor- 
ite stimulants,  this  discovery  was  more  valuable 
than  a  gold  mine. 

I  cannot  say  that  I  shared  his  delight  in  this 
matter,  knowing  well  that  the  wretch  would 
drink  to  excess,  and  then  there  would  be  greater 
reason  than  ever  to  dread  his  presence. 

Our  investigation  had  occupied  almost  the 
entire  day,  and  it  was  about  the  time  of  sunset 
when  Antonio  found  his  prize.  Knowing  well 
the  danger  of  getting  ashore  in  the  dusk  along 
the  ridge  of  the  reef  and  up  the  weed-covered 
rocks  of  the  island,  I  urged  the  Cubano  to  re- 
turn at  once,  as  I  had  a  dislike  of  remaining  all 
night  in  a  waterlogged  wreck,  which  any  rise  of 
the  wind  or  sea  might  take  off  the  coast  again ; 
but  Antonio  only  mocked  me,  and  was  deaf  to 
my  advice. 

He  drank  at  least  a  pint  of  rum  in  a  few  min- 
utes, and  this  prostrated  his  energies  for  the  time  ; 
so,  leaving  him  half-seated  in  the  water  that 
washed  and  gurgled  about  the  cabin,  with  his 


A   WATERLOGGED   VESSEL.  309 

back  propped  against  the  after  bulkhead,  the  spirit 
box  placed  between  his  legs,  and  a  square  case- 
bottle  in  each  hand,  I  prepared  to  sheer  off  and 
get  ashore  ere  worse  came  to  pass. 

All  the  plunder  I  brought  away  with  me  con- 
isted  of  a  book,  which  I  found,  half  defaced  by- 
water,  on  a  shelf,  and  a  small  sword,  like  a  couteau 
de  chasse,  that  hung  on  a  hook  in  one  of  the 
cabin  berths,  and  which,  unseen  by  Antonio,  I 
concealed  in  my  trousers,  as  he  had  lost  my 
hatchet  somewhere  in  the  fore-hold,  and  I  had 
no  other  weapon  with  which  to  defend  myself 
if  attacked. 

I  had  eaten  nothing  but  half  a  cocoa-nut  all 
day,  and  felt  weak  and  giddy  when  lowering 
myself  off  the  wreck  by  the  main-chains. 

In  the  tropics  the  sun  sets  rapidly,  and  already 
the  reef  was  darkened  by  the  shadows  of  the  two 
islands  between  which  it  lay.  Their  rocks  were 
black  as  marble ;  but  the  sea,  and  all  the  surf 
between  them,  were  white  as  milk  by  the  reflec- 
tion of  the  snowy  clouds  on  which  the  rising 
moon  was  shining. 

The  whole  scene  of  the  sOent  and  waterlogged 
wreck  was  solemn  and  impressive ;  and  a  gloomy 
horror  was  added  to  it  by  the  ghastly  remains 
of  the  dead  man,  which  hung  and  were  washed 
to  and  fro  alongside,  head  downward,  from  the 
fore-channel  —  swaying  with  a  gurgling  sound, 
as  if  he  was  essaying  to  rise  from  the  water. 


310  DICK   RODNEY. 

Shudderingly  I  turned  away,  and  wading 
through  the  surf,  clambered  over  the  piles  of 
slippery  and  weedy  boulders,  to  regain  the  higher 
portion  of  the  Island  of  Alphonso. 

As  I  ascended,  the  voice  of  Antonio,  now 
somewhat  cracked  and  wavering,  reached  me,  as 
he  put  his  head  above  the  booby-hatch,  and 
sung  a  Spanish  ditty,  one  verse  of  which  ran 
thus: 

"  Companero,  companero, 

She  is  gone  that  ruled  my  heart ! 
Companero,  companero, 

That  was  sorrow's  deepest  smart. 
But  companero,  companero, 

Here's  the  bota,  drink  your  fill ; 
For  companero,  companero, 

Wine's  the  cure  for  every  ill ! " 

At  this  point  of  his  song  he  suddenly  van- 
ished. Probably  his  foot  slipped,  and  if  so,  he 
would  fall  souse  into  the  water,  which  flooded 
all  the  cabin  and  companion-way.  If  stunned 
by  the  fall,  or  stupefied  by  the  rum  of  which  he 
had  partaken  so  freely,  he  might  lie  there  and 
drown. 

But  what  was  the  fate  of  such  a  wretch  to 
me  ?  If  I  returned  on  board,  could  I  save  him  ? 
No ;  it  was  more  than  probable  that  in  his  in- 
toxication he  would  assail  me,  and  I  might  per- 
ish by  his  hand ;  so  leaving  the  Cubano  to  his 
fate,  I  continued  my  ascent,  until  I  reached  the 


A   WATERLOGGED   VESSEL.  511 

banana  thicket,  where  ray  little  hiding-place  lay. 
There  I  placed  the  sword  I  had  found  beside 
me  for  security,  and  coiling  myself  up  on  my 
bed  of  dry  leaves,  strove  to  sleep,  and  dream  of 
deliverance  and  of  home.  But  the  idea  of  An- 
tonio perishing  there  in  the  wreck  haunted  me, 
and  kept  me  long  miserable  and  awake. 


31?  DICK   RODNEY. 


CHAPTER    XLII. 

THE    OLD    SPANISH    BOOK. 

Next  morning  my  doubts  about  Antonio  were 
dispelled,  when,  from  my  place  of  concealment 
(which  was  on  the  brow  of  a  wooded  rock),  I 
heard  him  shouting  for  me ;  and  orice  or  twice  I 
obtained  a  glimpse  of  him,  stumbling  about  as 
if  intoxicated,  with  the  box  of  case-bottles  slung 
over  his  back  in  a  Manilla  rope. 

How  he  had  got  either  the  box  or  himself 
ashore  was  a  mystery,  the  passage  along  the  reef, 
and  the  ascent  from  thence  to  the  upper  part  of 
the  island  being  so  difficult  and  so  dangerous ; 
but  heedless  of  his  invitations  to  join  him,  and 
of  his  threats  for  absenting  myself,  I  remained 
close  in  my  place  of  concealment,  being  well 
aware  that  if  the  Cubano  was  a  hateful  and 
perilous  companion  when  sober,  he  would  be 
doubly  so  in  his  present  state. 

The  morning  was  clear  and  bright  in  all  its 
tropical  loveliness.  My  first  glance  was  turned 
to  the  sea,  where  its  waters  blended  in  the  faint- 
est blue  with  the  flat  horizon ;  but  no  sail  was 
in  sight. 


THE  OLD  SPANISH  BOOK.         313 

So  long  had  this  been  the  case  —  so  often  had 
I  swept  the  sea  at  sunrise  and  at  sunset  with 
haggard  eyes  in  vain,  —  that  I  repressed  the 
usual  sigh ;  and  placing  the  book  I  had  found 
open  in  the  sunshine,  that  its  damp  leaves  might 
dry,  I  selected  a  ripe  banana,  brought  some 
water  in  a  large  leaf  from  a  spring,  and  pro- 
ceeded to  make  my  breakfast  like  a  hermit  of  old. 

Concealed  by  thick  shrubs  and  beds  of  gigan- 
tic tulips,  I  was  certain  that  Antonio  could 
neither  discover  nor  molest  me  —  at  least,  that 
he  could  not  take  me  by  surprise,  which  was 
somewhat  consoling ;  for  the  events  of  yesterday 
morning  had  given  me  a  greater  terror  of  him. 

At  my  feet  apparently  lay  the  bay,  on  the 
margin  of  which  stood  the  rude  wigwam  built 
by  the  men  of  the  Eugenie;  and  it  made  me 
think  sadly  of  good  Marc  Hislop  and  others  who 
were  gone. 

There  lay  the  rocks  which  formed  the  horns 
of  that  beautiful  bay,  tufted  with  feathery  trees, 
and  between  them  extended  the  long  white  line 
of  the  coral  reef,  over  which  the  shadowy  vessel 
had  appeared  to  sail  on  that  eventful  night. 

On  my  right  towered  through  the  clouds  the 
great  mountain,  which  is  yet  unnamed ;  and  on 
my  left  rose,  sheer  from  the  water,  the  mighty 
bluff  we  had  first  descried  at  sea. 

I  took  up  the  book,  the  leaves  of  which  the 
warm  sunshine  had  dried  and  crisped,  and  its 
27 


314  DICK   KODNET. 

pages  made  me  think  of  home  and  of  that  eivili 
zation  from  which  I  was  exiled- — of  Eton  and 
other  times ;  and  for  nearly  an  hour  my  eyes 
were  full,  my  heart  sick  and  heavy,  with  intense 
longing  for  relief,  and  a  weariness  of  the  life  I 
was  passing  on  this  lonely  island. 

After  a  time  I  began  to  read,  and  in  this  new 
or  old  (it  was  both  to  me)  sense  of  pleasure,  1 
forgot  all  my  sorrow  and  peril. 

It  was  a  Spanish  book,  the  title-page  of  which 
was  gone,  but  proved  to  be  the  first  volume  of  a 
collection  of  the  voyages  and  discoveries  made 
by  the  Spaniards  in  the  olden  time. 

It  related  *  the  adventures  of  Alphonso  de  Al- 
buquerque, detailing  how  he  and  Tristan  da 
Cunha,  each  with  seven  caravels,  had  sailed  from 
Em-ope  and  touched  at  TenerifFe,  while  there 
was  an  eruption  from  the  crater  of  the  great 
peak,  during  which  a  mighty  mass  of  rock  fell 
down,  and  brought  to  light  the  great  diamond, 
which  had  since  shone  at  times  with  such  won- 
drous brilliance  in  the  night,  but  the  exact  local- 
ity of  which  baffled  aU  search  during  day. 

Sailing  from  thence  to  the  isles  named  Tristan 
da  Cunha,  a  storm  dispersed  the  fleet ;  but  Al- 
phonso, after  being  separated  from  Don  Tristan 
discovered  the  island,  which  he  named  from  him- 

*  I  subsequently  learned  from  Marc  Hislop  that  the  work  wag 
probably  a  volume  of  the  Colleccion  de  los  Viages  y  Descubrimien- 
tos  de  los  Espanoles  en  Indias. 


THE  OLD  SPANISH  BOOK.         315 

self,  and  had  his  name  cut  on  one  of  the  rocks, 
in  the  year  in  which  Philip,  King  of  Castile  and 
Emperor  of  Austria,  died  ;  and  this  was  the  rock 
which  we  had  discovered. 

Then,  in  the  following  year,  he  sailed  to  India, 
of  which  he  became  viceroy,  for  Ferdinand  the 
Catholic.  It  detailed  how,  thereafter,  he  went 
from  the  city  of  Cochin  unto  the  Straits  of  Ma- 
lacca, and  sent  a  certain  valiant  Portuguese 
knight,  named  Ruy  Nunnez  da  Cunha,  as  am- 
bassador to  the  king  of  the  Seguiers  :  how  he 
sailed  to  Java,  where  he  found  the  wonderful 
birds  of  paradise,  that  came  in  flights  from  the 
southern  isles  of  India,  and  were  fabled  to  be 
always  on  the  wing  without  the  power  of  alight- 
ing, till  they  found  some  that  were  drunk  with 
the  strength  of  the  nutmeg,  which  always  intoxi- 
cates them. 

In  that  sea  huge  lampreys  adhered  to  the  keels 
of  his  caravels,  and  for  a  time  retarded  their  pro- 
gress, which  was  deemed  to  be  enchantment. 

Sailing  thence,  Alphonso  discovered  an  island 
where  the  sea-serpent  coiled  up  his  monstrous 
length  for  certain  seasons,  guarding  caverns  that 
were  filled  with  piles  of  golden  ingots,  and  casks 
of  orient  pearls,  rubies,  and  diamonds ;  and  in 
this  isle  were  deep  bights  and  bays,  where  ships 
with  all  their  crews  lay  spell-bound  by  necro- 
mancers. 

On  another  island  he  found  a  white  nation, 


316  DICK   RODNEY. 

whose  cavaliers  were  arrayed  in  fine  shirts, 
slashed  doublets  of  taffeta,  and  trunk  hose,  with 
long  swords  and  short  mantles,  exactly  like  the 
Portuguese  ;  and  having  money  of  silver,  with 
many  other  incredible  statements,  aU  tending  to 
assure  the  reader  that  this  settlement  was  one  of 
the  seven  Christian  colonies  that,  under  seven 
bishops,  had  fled  from  the  Spanish  Peninsula 
when  the  cross  was  trampled  under  the  feet  of 
the  Moors,  and  when  the  churches  of  Christ  were 
converted  into  mosques  for  the  w^orship  of  Mo- 
hammed, as  a  punishment  for  the  wickedness  of 
Roderick  the  Last  of  the  Goths. 

Returning  westw^ard  from  this  wonderful  voy- 
age, in  1513,  Don  Alphonso  w^ent  from  the  city 
of  Goa  to  the  straits  of  Mecca,  and  passing  with 
twenty  caravels  through  the  narrow  Gate  of 
Tears  into  the  Red  Sea,  he  bombarded  the  city 
of  Aden,  after  which  a  cross  appeared  in  heaven, 
shining  before  his  ship,  like  the  pillar  of  fire  that 
shone  before  the  children  of  Israel ;  and  two  years 
after,  this  w^orthy  cavalier,  just  as  he  w^as  about 
to  make  Shah  Ishmael,  king  of  Persia,  pay  trib- 
ute to  his  master  the  king  of  Castile,  "passed 
away  to  the  company  of  the  saints,"  dying  like 
a  true  Hidalgo,  with  his  armor  on,  and  his  toledo 
at  his  girdle. 

The  real  and  the  marvellous  were  so  curiously 
blended  in  these  voyages,  that  I  read  on,  forget- 
ful of  all  about  me,  and  charmed  in  spite  of  my 
deplorable  situation. 


THE  OLD  SPANISH  BOOK.         317 

At  last  I  came  to  the  history  of  a  valiant  mari- 
ner who  invented  a  steamship  in  the  time  of 
Charles  V. —  a  narrative  which  seemed  to  illus- 
trate the  old  aphorism,  that  there  is  nothing  new 
under  the  sun. 

When  Charles  the  First  of  Spain  and  Fifth 
of  Germany  was  emperor,  there  lived  in  the  busy 
town  of  Barcelona,  a  certain  Blasco  de  Garay, 
captain  of  a  merchant  ship. 

In  his  youth,  Blasco  had  been  one  of  the  mari- 
ners of  Columbus,  whom  he  accompanied  in  all 
those  voyages  which  gave  to  Castile  and  Leon 
a  new  realm  beyond  the  seas  of  the  southern  and 
western  world.  He  was  with  him  when  he  landed 
in  Guana  Bay,  and  erected  the  standard  of  Fer- 
dinand and  Isabella  on  a  shore  never  before  trod 
by  a  Christian  foot ;  so  this  land,  which  is  one 
of  the  Bahamas,  by  the  suggestion  of  Blasco,  he 
named  San  Salvador  ;  and  he  was  also  with  him 
at  the  discovery  of  Cuba,  of  Hispaniola,  and  the 
discovery  of  that  mighiy  continent,  the  nominal 
honor  of  which  was  robbed  from  Columbus,  by 
Amerigo  Vespucius,  the  Florentine. 

But  all  this  was  when  Blasco  was  a  boy ;  so 
fifty-one  years  after,  that  is,  in  the  year  of  grace 
1543,  he  conceived  the  idea  "  of  an  engine  able 
to  move  large  vessels  in  calm  weather  without 
the  use  of  oars  or  sails." 

So  coldly  were  his  proposals  met  at  home, 
that  he  was  on  the  point  of  applying  to  James 

27* 


318  DICK   RODNEY. 

V.  of  Scotland,  a  monarch  then  far  in  advance 
of  any  other  in  Europe,  m  the  cultivation  of  the 
arts,  of  commerce,  music,  architecture,  and  paint- 
ing; but  unfortunately  ne  died  of  a  broken 
heart,  and,  moreover,  his  mariners  were  the 
scourge  of  the  shores  of  Portugal  and  Spain. 

But  Blasco  did  not  lose  heart,  for  after  endur- 
ing torrents  of  ridicule,  and  experiencing  incred- 
ible abuse,  with  threats  from  the  Dominicans 
that  they  would  burn  him  as  a  sorcerer,  the  Em- 
peror agreed  to  permit  a  trial  of  his  great  inven- 
tion, and  it  took  place  in  presence  of  a  mighty 
concoiu-se,  at  Barcelona,  on  the  17th  of  June, 
1543. 

The  harbor  there  is  formed  by  a  kind  of  bight, 
which  lies  between  the  citadel  of  Monjuich  and 
the  city ;  all  the  shore  of  this  bay  was  covered 
with  spectators ;  the  battlements  of  the  govern- 
or's palace,  and  those  of  the  palaces  of  the 
counts  of  Barcelona  and  of  the  kings  of  Arragon, 
with  the  spire  of  St.  Mary-of-the-Sea,  were  also 
covered  by  a  multitude. 

The  Emperor  was  on  horseback,  surrounded 
by  his  courtiers,  the  commanders  of  St.  Jago  of 
Calatrava,  of  Alcantara,  and  other  religious  and 
military  orders,  wearing  their  crosses  and  man- 
tles, and  all  the  officials  of  his  splendid  house- 
hold, while  his  guard  of  archers,  the  guards  of 
Monteros  de  Espinosa,  and  the  old  German 
Lanzknechts,  lined  the  beach  with   their  great 


THE  OLD  SPANISH  BOOK.         319 

gilded  partisans,  the  staves  of  which  were  cov- 
ered with  crimson  velvet  and  tasselled  with  gold. 

On  beholding  all  these  preparations,  and  such 
a  concourse  of  the  noble,  the  wealthy,  and  great 
around  the  Emperor,  Blasco  de  Garay  believed 
that  the  fortunate  hour  —  "the  hour  which,  ac- 
cording to  the  general  saying,  presents  itself  to 
ev^y  man  once  in  his  life  for  making  fame  and 
fortune,  had  now  arrived. 

He  had  spent  the  night  in  prayer,  at  Montser- 
rat,  for  the  success  of  his  invention  —  dreamt  of 
in  youth,  studied  in  manhood,  and  now  matured 
in  age  —  the  ship  that  would  be  alike  independ- 
ent of  wave  and  wind. 

Montserrat  is  a  few  miles  from  Barcelona, 
and  had  then  a  famous  abbey,  which  was  much 
frequented  in  consequence  of  a  miraculous  im- 
age of  the  Virgin,  which  was  kept  in  a  chapel 
on  the  summit  of  a  rock ;  and  in  this  chapel 
ninety  lamps  of  solid  sijver,  filled  with  perfumed 
oil,  burned  night  and  day,  and  on  each  was  en- 
graved the  name  and  arms  of  Alphonso  de  Al- 
buquerque, who  brought  them  from  the  mosques 
of  the  East,  beyond  the  realms  of  Prester  John. 
In  the  caverns  beneath  dwelt  many  aged  her- 
mits and  others  who  wished  to  seclude  them- 
selves from  the  world  ;  so  there  did  Blasco  de 
Garay  spend  the  night  preceding  the  17th  of 
June,  in  meditation  and  prayer  for  the  success 
of  his  wonderful  scV  <3me. 


320  DICK   RODNEY. 

A  vessel  of  two  hundred  tons,  named  La 
Trinidad,  commanded  by  Captain  Pedro  de 
Scarza,  was  then  passing  the  high  bar  which  is 
formed  at  the  entrance  of  the  bay  by  the  waters 
of  the  Bezos,  and  the  Llobregat  mingling  with 
the  sea ;  and  when  she  caught  the  eye  of  the 
Emperor,  he  ordered  Blasco  to  try  his  experi- 
ment on  her. 

She  was  laden  with  corn,  and  had  just  come 
from  Monte  Colibre  or  the  Columbretes  islets, 
which  lie  near  the  coast  of  Valencia,  and  poor 
Pedro  de  Scarza,  in  his  ignorance  and  fear  of 
what  was  about  to  be  done  to  his  ship,  rent  his 
beard  and  tore  his  slashed  doublet  as  he  stamped 
about  her  deck  and  gave  himself  up  for  lost, 
when  ordered  to  furl  every  thing  aloft  as  La 
Trinidad  was  to  sail  without  canvas,  or  as  he 
"believed,  about  to  be  bewitched. 

Blasco  told  his  secret  to  none ;  but  it  was  ob- 
served that  he  placed  across  the  vessel's  deck, 
and  bolted  thereto  an  axle,  at  each  end  of  which 
was  a  large  wooden  wheel.  Amidships  were 
several  other  mysterious  wheels  with  bands  and 
bars,  and  a  necromantic-looking  iron  boiler  of 
great  size,  which  he  filled,  however,  with  water 
from  the  holy  well  of  Montserrat. 

The  moment  this  water  attained  boiling  heat, 
by  means  of  a  fire  which  burned  in  a  grating 
underneath,  the  wheels  revolved,  and  again  Pe- 
dro de  Scarza  rent  his  beard,  while  most  of  hi& 


THE  OLD  SPANISH  BOOK.         321 

crew  jumped  overboard ;  for  now  the  vessel  ran 
right  across  the  Bay  of  Barcelona  against  the 
wind  which  was  blovring  fresh,  to  the  great  as- 
tonishment and  terror  of  the  people. 

Charles  V.,  whose  mind  was  more  occupied 
by  wars  and  conquests,  by  battles  and  sieges, 
than  the  arts  of  science  and  peace,  ordered  his 
treasurer  to  inspect  this  strange  machine  an<l 
report  upon  it. 

The  treasurer,  in  doing  so,  got  his  trunk 
breeches  torn  by  a  portion  of  the  machinery,  by 
which  accident  about  three  pecks  (Spanish)  of 
fine  cedar  sawdust,  which  formed  the  bombast- 
ing  thereof,  were  spilled  on  the  deck  of  La  Trin- 
idad; so  being  a  solemn,  proud,  and  pompous 
grandee  of  Old  Castile,  he  justly  considered 
himself  insulted  by  a  vile  mechanical  contriv- 
ance, which  he  loudly  denounced,  stating  "  that 
it  was  not  worth  adopting,  as  the  vessel  did  not 
go  more  than  eight  miles  in  two  hoTirs,  which 
any  caravel  might  do ;  and  that  the  boiler  was  a 
Satanic  affair,  which  was  liable  to  burst  and 
scald  good  Christians. 

The  Emperor,  who  was  on  the  eve  of  departing 
from  Spain  to  invade  France,  thus  forbade  Blasco 
to  think  more  of  his  invention ;  but  he  bestowed 
upon  him  forty  thousand  maravedis,  and  created 
him  a  knight  of  the  Dove  of  Castile  —  an  order 
instituted  in  1379,  by  Henry  IL,  King  of  Castile 
and  Lord  of  Biscay  —  the  same  who  was  poi- 


322  DICK   RODNEY. 

soned  by  a  handsome  pair  of  buskins  sent  to  him 
by  Mohammed  IL,  the  Red-faced  king  of  Gran- 
ada. 

But  Blasco  de  Garay,  on  seeing  no  further 
hope  of  success  with  his  long-cherished  steam 
engine,  in  the  bitterness  of  his  heart  dashed  it  to 
pieces  with  a  hammer,  thus  destroying  in  an 
instant  all  that  the  fond  hopes,  the  deep  thoughts, 
and  the  labor  of  a  lifetime  had  developed  and 
constructed. 

Disgusted  with  the  world  and  weary  of  it,  he 
retired  to  one  of  the  little  hermitages  in  the  Rock 
of  Montserrat,  only  in  time  to  prevent  the  In- 
quisition from  burning  him  as  a  sorcerer,  and 
there  he  died,  in  the  year  of  the  Emperor's  abdi- 
cation, 1555. 


SANGRE   POR   SANGRE.  323 


CHAPTER   XLIII. 

SANGRE    POR    SANGRE. 

Seated  under  a  banana  tree,  with  my  back 
resting  against  its  trunk,  I  had  read  thus  far ; 
and  lulled  by  the  ceaseless  hum  of  insects  among 
the  leaves,  and  by  the  equally  monotonous  chaf- 
ing of  the  sea  on  the  beach  far  down  below,  I 
permitted  the  book,  so  valuable  under  the  cir- 
cumstances in  which  I  was  placed,  to  drop  from 
my  hands,  and  I  was  about  to  sleep,  when  the 
appearance  of  a  distant  object  on  the  waters 
gave  me  a  species  of  electric  shock. 

A  Ship' 

Under  a  cloud  of  canvas,  she  was  running 
direct  for  the  island  from  the  west,  and  must  have 
been  some  hours  visible  before  she  caught  my 
eye. 

I  started  up  as  if  I  would  have  met  her  half 
way,  and  then  seated  myself  again,  and  watched 
her  in  a  species  of  ecstasy. 

Ah !  how  my  heart  leaped  at  this  sight  I  My 
emotions  were  suffocating,  and  with  them  there 
was  a  nervous  fear  that  it  might  prove  another 
optical  delusion  —  another  Fata  Morgana  —  an- 


324  DICK   RODNEY. 

other  ship  that  would  melt  away  on  a  nearer 
approach. 

But  no  !  On  she  Ciime  —  on  and  on,  with  the 
white  foam  curling  under  her  sharp  bows,  a  long 
wake  weltering  under  the  counter,  and  running 
far  astern,  every  thing  set  upon  her  that  would 
draw,  from  deck  to  trucks ;  even  her  studding- 
sails  were  rigged  out  from  the  lower,  the  topsail, 
and  top-gaUant  yards. 

She  seemed  a  very  large  vessel,  ship-rigged, 
and  apparently  about  fifteen  miles  distant. 

How  I  dreaded  that  she  might  change  her 
course  !  How  I  longed  for  some  means  of  at- 
tracting her,  ere  evening  came  on.  How  I 
panted.  I  rose,  and  in  an  incredibly  short  space 
reached  the  summit  of  the  great  bluff  wj^iich  over- 
hangs the  sea. 

There,  under  a  blazing  sun,  I  exhausted  my- 
self by  waving  my  tattered  jacket,  and  by  shout- 
ing as  if  her  crew  could  have  heard  me. 

Then  I  felt  my  brain  almost  boiling  in  the  heat, 
and  sat  down  in  the  shade  of  a  thicket  to  fan  my- 
self with  a  large  leaf,  and  lave  water  from  a 
spring  upon  my  face  and  head. 

Forgetting  all  about  Antonio,  or  what  his 
views  or  purposes  might  now  be,  I  descended  to 
the  beach,  and  stood  upon  the  white  stripe  of 
sand,  in  the  hope  that  some  one  on  board  who 
might  be  using  a  telescope  would  distinguish 
me :    and  about  two  hours  after  she  came  in 


SANGRE   POR   SANGRE.  325 

sight,  I  supposed  this  was  the  case,  for  when  the 
wind  veered  more  upon  her  quarter,  I  saw  her 
ensign  floating  as  it  was  run  up  to  the  gaff  peak  ; 
but  my  eyes  failed  to  make  out  its  color  or  na- 
tion. 

And  now  her  hull  became  black  and  all  her 
canvas  assumed  a  purple  hue  as  the  sun  set ; 
but  her  sails  grew  white  again  when  the  shadow 
of  the  mountain  fell  across  the  sea  she  sailed 
on. 

She  was  about  three  miles  off,  when  the  wind 
became  light,  and  ere  long  almost  died  away.  I 
felt  as  if  bursting  with  impatience  —  with  excited 
hope,  with  joy  to  behold  her,  and  with  desire  for 
deliverance.  AU  this  created  a  delirium  in  my 
head  and  heart,  like  intoxication  or  fever. 

During  the  day,  I  had  seen  nothing  of  Anto- 
nio, whom  I  supposed  to  be  either  on  board  the 
"vvTeck,  or  employed  with  his  beloved  case  of  Ja- 
maica rum  in  some  thicket  on  the  other  side  of 
the  island.  Indeed  I  forgot  all  about  him,  and 
thought  only  of  the  approaching  ship. 

I  felt  certain  that  I  had  been  seen  ;  why  else 
would  she  have  shown  her  colors  ? 

The  sunset  was  followed  by  a  deep  and  sol- 
emn crimson,  which  overspread  the  western 
quarter  of  the  sky  and  sea.  The  line  of  the  ho- 
rizon could  no  longer  be  distinguished,  so  softly 
did  cloud  and  water  blend  together  in  the  dis- 
tance. 

28 


326  DICK   RODNEY 

In  the  dark  blue  vault  above,  the  diamond 
stars  were  sparkling.  No  sound  met  the  ear  but 
the  gurgle  of  a  spring  from  a  rock  plashing  on 
the  pebbled  channel,  and  the  ceaseless  chafing 
of  the  sea  upon  the  lonely  shore. 

The  passing  breeze  stirred  the  pendent  leaves 
of  the  palms,  and  then  died  away,  for  it  came  in 
puffs  that  caused  the  canvas  of  the  coming  ship 
to  shiver  aloft ;  so  ere  long  her  courses  were 
brailed  up,  as  they  collapsed  against  the  masts. 

Slowly  and  imperceptibly  the  large  and  stately 
craft  came  on.  There  was  a  trim  squareness  in 
her  hamper  aloft,  and  a  clean,  flush  run  in  her 
hull  that  gave  her  somewhat  the  aspect  of  a  man- 
o'-war ;  but  she  was  not  one,  evidently. 

Nearer  and  nearer  she  came.  The  look-out 
ahead  evidently  saw  the  bar  or  coral  reef,  with 
the  ridge  of  white  foam  that  boiled  at  the  en- 
trance of  the  bay,  for  now  a  leadsman  was  busy 
in  the  forechains  to  leeward. 

Anon  her  cloud  of  canvas,  topsails,  topgallant- 
sails,  and  royals,  seemed  to  tower  between  me 
and  the  sky.  I  could  see  every  sail  and  rope 
distinctly,  and  could  count  the  men  upon  her 
deck. 

Now  her  royals  were  hauled  down,  and  the 
fore-yards  slewed  round  as  her  head  was  thrown 
in  the  wind  ;  then  the  rushing  sound  of  the  great 
chain  cable,  as  it  roared  hoarsely  through  the  iron 
hawse-i)ipe,  reached   my   ear   over   the    ripples 


SANGRE   POR   SANGRE.  327 

within  the  bay,  as  she  came  to  anchor  outside 
the  reef ;  and  I  saw  her  crew  swarming  up  aloft, 
and  laying  out  upon  the  yards  to  hand  her  can- 
vas, and  in  a  few  minutes  she  was  bared  of  every 
thing. 

I  panted  with  eagerness  for  the  next  move- 
ment in  the  drama  of  my  deliverance,  and 
laughed  exultingly  when  one  of  her  quarter  boata 
was  lowered  and  manned. 

For  a  time,  it  hung  off  the  larboard  quarter, 
as  the  great  ship  swung  round  at  her  moorings, 
and  the  bow-man  held  on  to  the  mizzen  channels 
by  a  boat-hook,  while  the  men  kept  their  oars 
up-ended. 

During  this  delay,  I  endured  an  agony  of  im- 
patience. At  last  a  smart  fellow  slid  down  the 
falls  to  the  stern  sheets,  seated  himself,  seized 
the  tiller  rope,  and  the  oars  dipped  in  the  water 
as  she  was  shoved  off  with  her  bow  pointed  to 
the  shore. 

They  were  pulling  for  a  part  of  the  beach 
where  a  ledge  of  rock  formed  a  kind  of  natural 
pier  within  the  northern  horn  of  the  bay,  and  I 
was  about  to  run  in  that  direction,  when  the 
voice  of  Antonio,  rendered  husky  by  his  recent 
potations,  reached  me. 

"  Hola !  Stop,  or  it  may  be  the  worse  for 
you,"  said  he. 

I  turned,  and  saw  him  start  from  behind  some 
large  boulders  which  lay  on  the  beach  to  my 


328  DICK   RODNEY. 

right.  There  he  had  evidently  been  lurking  and 
observing  the  ship's  approach  ;  and  now  he  stood, 
with  bare  knife  in  hand,  between  me  and  the 
coming  boat. 

The  pile  of  weedy  boulders  concealed  us  both 
at  that  moment  from  the  ship,  and  from  those  in 
her  boat ;  and  by  the  light  of  the  moon,  I  could 
read  the  feU  intention  of  Antonio  in  his  dark  and 
deep-set  eye. 

In  tangled  masses,  his  black  hair  fell  over  a 
low  and  narrow  brow,  and  met  the  equally  black 
whiskers  that  mingled  with  the  beard  which  grew 
like  a  furze-bush  over  his  chin  and  cheeks.  Naked 
to  the  waist,  he  resembled  in  every  way  a  brawny 
savage.  Inflamed  by  alcohol,  the  expression  of 
his  eye  was  terrible,  and  he  seemed  to  tremble 
with  the  ferocity  of  his  emotions,  as  he  grasped 
his  knife,  with  the  thumb  of  his  right  hand  placed 
firmly  over  the  pommel. 

The  moonlight  shone  brightly  on  the  beach  ; 
so  whatever  he  meant  to  do,  he  resolved  should 
be  done  behind  the  screen  formed  by  the  bould- 
ers among  which  he  had  been  concealed. 

I  had  still  the  sword  which  had  been  taken 
from  the  wreck,  and  I  drew  it  with  the  resolution 
of  defending  my  life  to  the  last.  Antonio  started 
on  beholding  me  armed  so  unexpectedly. 

"  You  see  the  boat  which  is  making  for  the 
shore  ?  "  said  he. 

"  I  do,  and  am  on  my  way  to  meet  it ;  so 
stand  aside,  Cubano,"  I  replied,  firmly. 


SANGRE   POR   SANGRE.  329 

"  And  you  will  tell  her  crew  of  all  that  hap- 
pened in  the  Eugenie,  and  cry  sangre  por  san- 
g-re  I  "  said  he,  grinding  his  teeth. 

"  That  is  as  may  be,"  said  I,  without  consid- 
eration. 

Then  uttering  a  howl  like  a  wild  animal,  he 
rushed  upon  me  with  his  knife  uplifted;  but 
quite  undaunted  I  met  him  half-way,  and  thrust 
the  sword  under  his  right  arm-pit.  Springing 
back,  before  the  great  lumbering  ruffian  could 
renew  the  attack,  I  gave  him  another  dangerous 
wound  in  the  breast,  which  tumbled  him  down 
on  his  face  ;  and  without  looking  to  see  whether 
or  not  he  moved  again,  I  ran  along  the  moonlit 
beach,  and  reached  the  boat,  which  had  just 
sheered  alongside  the  ledge  of  rock  aheady  men- 
tioned. 


»' 


DICK  RODNEY. 


CHAPTER   XLIV. 

THE    SAN    ILDEFONSO.  * 

The  bowman  held  the  boat's-head  to  the  shore 
by  the  hook,  which  he  grasped  with  his  left  hand, 
^hile  stretching  out  his  right  to  me.  'Twas  old 
Tom  Lambourne ;  there  was  no  mistaking  that 
quaint  and  tattooed  visage  of  his  ! 

"  Hilloah,  Master  Rodney,  here  we  are  again, 
come  back  for  you,  after  all ;  "  he  exclaimed,  joy- 

fully. 

"  Tom,  Tom ! "  I  gasped,  while  seizing  his 
hard  brown  hand,  and  leaping  without  invitation, 
into  the  boat,  where  my  hands  were  immedi- 
ately grasped  by  Hislop,  who  had  been  steering. 
"  Oh,  Hislop,  Marc  Hislop  !  "  I  added,  in  a  breath- 
less voice,  and  nearly  sank  down  overcome  by 
emotion. 

"  You  didn't  think  I  would  leave  you  there, 
my  boy,  if  I  could  help  it  ?  "  said  he.  "  Thank 
heaven,  we  have  come  in  time.  I  have  counted 
every  day,  every  hour,  aye,  every  moment,  and 
have  scarcely  ever  slept  for  thinking  of  you, 
and  the  wretched  condition  in  which  you  were 
left." 


THE   SAN   ILDEFONSO.  331 

1  could  not  reply,  but,  completely  overcome  by 
the  revulsion  of  feeling,  seated  myself  in  the 
stern-sheets,  and  wept. 

"  What  is  this  in  your  hand  ?  "  said  Hislop, 
with  astonishment ;  "  a  sword,  and  blood  on  it 
too  !  Where  did  it,  —  where  did  this  come 
from  ?  » 

"  Antonio," —  I  began. 

"  The  villanous  Cubano  ?  " 

"  Yes,"  my  voice  sank  into  a  whisper,  I  was 
so  weak. 

«  What  of  him?  —  where  is  he  ?" 

"  He  tried  to  kill  me  when  he  saw  the  boat 
approaching,  and  —  and  —  " 

"  What  then  ?  " 

"  I  ran  him  through  the  body." 

"  But  where  is  he  now  ?  "  continued  Hislop. 
"  Our  work  in  rescuing  you  will  be  but  half  done 
if  we  leave  him  unhanged." 

"  He  is  lying  wounded,  dying,  perhaps,  on  the 
beach.  Oh,  Hislop,  it  is  horrible!  For  pity's 
sake,  for  heaven's  sake,  go  some  of  you  —  be- 
hind those  rocks,"  I  added,  incoherently,  for  in 
my  joy  at  escaping,  I  felt  it  possible  even  to  com- 
passionate and  forgive  Antonio. 

"  Remain  here,"  said  Hislop,  and  leaping 
ashore,  followed  by  Tom  Lambourne,  he  went 
at  once  to  the  place  I  indicated. 

I  now  looked  at  the  boat's  crew,  eight  in  num- 
ber and  to  my  surprise  found  they  were  all  Span- 


332      ■     ■  DICK   RODNEY. 

lards ;  bearded,  mustachioed,  and  armed  with 
sheath-knives  in  their  sashes ;  some  wore  red 
nets  on  their  heads,  others  red  night-caps,  and  they 
might  all  have  passed — especially  those  with 
earrings  —  for  blood  relations  of  the  Cubano. 

I  had  scarcely  made  this  unpleasant  discovery 
when  Hislop  and  Lambourne  appeared,  half 
supporting  and  half  dragging  Antonio  toward 
the  boat,  into  the  bow  of  which  they  thrust  him 
with  very  little  ceremony ;  and  there  he  lay 
in  a  heap,  as  it  were,  with  his  eyes  closed  and 
his  bare  and  hairy  chest  covered  with  blood  and 
sand. 

His  right  hand  still  clenched  his  Albacete* 
knife,  the  weapon  with  which  he  had  committed 
so  many  crimes  ;  •  so  Hislop  tore  it  from  him,  and 
cast  it  into  the  sea. 

He  moaned  heavily,  and  the  Spanish  oarsmen 
looked  at  each  other,  and  then  at  me,  with  eyes 
the  reverse  of  friendly  in  expression ;  but  now 
Hislop  seated  himself,  assumed  the  tiller-lines, 
and  said,  in  their- own  language, — 

"  Shove  off  for  the  ship,  marineros.  We  must 
have  the  wounds  of  this  picaro  looked  to  at 
once ;  so  give  way  with  a  will." 

The  boat's  head  fell  round,  her  stern  lay  to  the 
beach  of  that  detested  island  of  Alphonso,  and 
the  sturdy  Espanoles,  with  their  bare  feet  planted 

*  Albacete  is  a  town  of  Miircia,  where  the  cutlers  manufacture 
a  great  number  of  slieath-knives. 


THE   SAN   ILDEFONSO.  333 

firmly  on  the  stretchers,  bent  their  backs  at  every 
stroke,  and  made  the  boat  fly  through  the  moon- 
lit bay,  toward  the  ship,  which  lay  more  than  a 
mile  distant  outside  the  coral  reef. 

In  a  few  minutes  I  related  to  Hislop,  how  my 
time  had  been  spent  since  his  departure,  and  how 
I  had  feared  that  the  desperate  sequel  of  to-night 
would  assuredly  ensue  when  Antonio  found  a 
ship  off  the  island. 

"  He  will  dangle  from  the  yard-arm  now,  if 
ever  a  rascally  pirate  swung  there !  "  said  Hislop, 
through  his  clenched  teeth. 

After  my  loneliness  on  the  island,  I  cannot 
describe  how  pleasant  his  voice  —  the  voice  of  a 
valued  and  trusted  friend  —  sounded  in  my  ear ! 

He  told  me  that  the  boat's  crew  soon  repented 
of  their  selfishness  and  folly  in  leaving  the  island, 
and  next  day  would  have  returned,  but  they  had 
lost  all  idea  of  its  bearings,  and  being  without 
compass  or  chart,  were  compelled  to  run  in  what 
they  believed  to  be  the  direction  of  Tristan  da 
Cunha. 

A  sea  half  swamped  the  boat,  and  washing 
away  the  tarpaulin  which  covered  the  bread- 
bags,  soaked  and  destroyed  their  contents ;  yet, 
having  no  other  food,  they  were  compelled  to  eat 
these  salt-sodden  biscuits,  and  thus  their  thirst 
became  excited  to  agony,  as  they  were  under  a 
vertical  sun,  and  their  supply  of  fresh  water  was 
rapidly  consumed. 


334  DICK  RODNEY 

For  six  days  and  nights  they  endured  un- 
speakable misery;  and  just  when  they  were 
sucking  the  last  putrid  drops  from  the  barrel- 
staves,  a  large  vessel  hove  in  sight,  running 
due  west,  under  a  cloud  of  canvas.  She  saw 
their  signal,  bore  down,  and  picked  them  up. 

She  proved  to  be  the  San  Ildefonso,  a  Spanish 
merchant-ship  of  sixteen  hundred  tons,  bound 
from  Java  to  Cadiz,  with  a  mixed  crew  of  Span- 
iards and  Lascars,  and  with  a  few  cabin  pas- 
sengers ;  in  all  about  sixty  souls. 

Her  skipper,  the  Captain  Jos^  Estremera  was 
very  unwilling  to  add  to  the  number  of  his 
crew,  lest  provisions  should  run  short,  and  flatly 
refused  at  first  to  haul  up  for  the  island,  and 
take  me  off. 

For  two  days  he  resisted  all  the  entreaties  of 
Hislop  and  others,  till  the  former  found  one  ally 
in  a  Portuguese  Mar,  who  was  returning  from 
his  mission  in  Java,  and  another  in  a  wealthy 
Dutch  passenger. 

Fra  Anselmo  held  the  terrors  of  Pandemo- 
nium before  the  capitano,  and  the  Dutch  planter 
held  a  handful  of  guilders,  so  the  yards  were 
tiimmed  anew,  the  charts  were  consulted  care- 
fully, and  in  two  days  more  the  look-out  man  in 
the  fore-cross-trees  of  the  San  Ildefonso  sighted 
the  great  mountain  of  the  island. 

Hislop  had  many  doubts  whether  he  would 
find   me   alive,   fearing  that   I  might  perish  of 


THE   SAN  ILDEFONSO.  ooO 

iiunger,  of  despair,  or  by  the  hand  of  the  Cu- 
bano. 

Just  as  he  concluded  his  narrative,  I  found 
myself  under  the  towering  side  of  the  Spanish 
merchant-ship. 

She  had  a  long  flush  deck :  was  pierced  for 
and  carried  twelve  brass  nine-pounders,  and  had 
top-gallant  bulwarks  aft.  Over  these  and  along 
her  side  was  a  row  of  faces,  surveying  us  in  the 
moonlight  with  expressions  of  wonder  and  in- 
terest. 

I  sprang  up  the  rope-ladder,  and  on  reaching 
the  deck  my  hands  were  caught  and  shaken  by 
Ned  Carlton,  old  Probart,  Burnet  the  cook,  Boy 
Bill,  and  others  of  our  crew,  who  all  expressed 
in  various  fashions,  but  chiefly  by  swearing  at 
themselves,  their  contrition  for  having  so  selfishly 
abandoned  me ;  but  that  was  all  over  now,  and 
I  desired  them  to  forget  it. 

Antonio  was  next  hoisted  on  board.  His  ap- 
pearance and  his  wounds  excited  great  astonish- 
ment ;  and  now,  surrounded  by  a  crowd  of  dark 
and  grim-looking  Spanish  seamen,  and  darker 
leathery-visaged  Lascars,  we  were  conducted  aft 
to  the  quarter-deck,  where  Captain  Jos6  Estre- 
mera  awaited  us,  together  with  a  number  of 
passengers,  whose  curiosity  was  excited  by  the 
whole  affair. 


336  DICK   ROPNEY. 


CHAPTER   XLV. 

WE    SAIL    FOR    EUROPE. 

EsTREMERA  was  a  smart  little  Andalusian,  with 
large  whiskers,  which  he  curled  with  great  care, 
and  he  wore  his  black  hair  shorn  short.  He  had 
little  gold  rings  in  his  ears,  and  the  red  point  of 
a  cigarito  perpetually  gleamed  between  his  teeth. 
He  wore  a  broad-brimmed  straw-hat,  from  which 
a  scarlet  ribbon  floated,  and  he  was  entirely  clad 
in  a  spotless  suit  of  white  linen  —  jacket,  waist- 
coat, and  trousers.  The  ample  collar  of  a  shirt 
that  was  broadly  striped  with  red  and  white  was 
folded  over  his  shoulders.  He  was  about  to 
speak,  when  Antonio,  who  was  supported  by 
two  of  the  crew,  suddenly  exclaimed  to  one  of 
them  — 

"Benito  Ojeda  —  hah!  Don't  you  remember 
me,  Benito  ?  " 

"  What,  Antonio,  is  this  you  ? "  replied  the 
seaman  ;  "  the  best  Cubano  that  ever  sailed  past 
the  Morro  light." 

"  Do  you  know  this  man,  Benito  ?  "  asked  the 
captain. 

"  Right  well,  senor,  and  will  bear  witness  to 
his  character,"  replied  the  sailor  bluntly. 


WE   SAIL   FOR   EUROPE.  337 

"  Much  value  your  evidence  will  be,"  said  Es- 
tremera,  contemptuously,  "  when  you  are  known 
to  be  the  greatest  picaroon  on  board.  Come, 
esta,  senor,"  he  added  to  me,  "  you  are  wel- 
come." 

"  Muchos  gratias,  senor  capitano,"  replied  I, 
bowing  low,  as  I  stepped  forward. 

"But  what  in  the  name  of  mischief  am  I  to 
do  to  provision  you  all?"  said  Estremera,  with 
perplexity. 

"  After  what  I  have  endured,  senor  capitano,  a 
very  little  food  will  suffice  for  me." 

"  Were  you  ever  in  Spain  ?  " 

"  No,  senor." 

"How,  then " 

"  Oh  !  one  may  speak  Spanish  without  hav- 
ing been  in  Spain,"  said  I,  smiling. 

"  Of  course  —  of  course.  But  what  is  this  ?  " 
he  added,  on  perceiving  the  wounds  of  Antonio  ; 
"  Caramba !  have  you  been  fighting  —  killing  one 
another  ?  " 

"  Senor,"  said  Hislop,  "  this  is  the  picaroon  of 
whom  I  told  you  —  he  who  slew  our  captain  and 
shipmates,  and  whom  we  thrust  overboard ;  but 
who,  as  if  by  a  miracle,  reached  the  island  of 
Alphonso  before  us." 

"  Bueno  !     And  what  more  ?  " 

"  On  seeing  your  ship  come  to  anchor  outside 
the  reef,"  said  I,  with  soine  anxiety  for  the  issue 
of  the  affair,  "  he  endeavored  to  kill  me  ;  and  but 

29 


338  DICK   RODNEY. 

for  the  swoid  v/ith  which  I  was  armed,  be  had 
assuredly  done  so." 

"  To  kill  you  —  santos !  —  and  why  ?  " 

"  Lest  I  should  accuse  him  of  those  crimes 
which  he  had  committed  in  the  Eugenie,  and 
which  so  many  of  her  surviving  crew,  now  here 
on  board,  are  ready  to  substantiate." 

"  And  now  in  the  name  of  justice,  senor  capi- 
tano,  I  demand  that  he  be  strung  up  at  once  at 
the  foreyard-arm  ! "  said  Hislop. 

"  Demoniol  I  have  neither  the  power  nor  the 
will  to  do  that,  before  all  these  accusations  have 
been  inquired  into  and  proved  ;  and  there  is  no 
chance  of  our  meeting  with  a  Spanish  ship  of 
war  in  these  seas,"  replied  the  captain. 

There  was  a  pause,  during  v/hich  Jose  Estre- 
mera  scratched  his  right  ear  with  an  air  of  per- 
plexity; and  the  aspect  of  Antonio,  as  he 
drooped  between  his  friend,  Benito  Ojeda,  and 
another  seaman,  was  truly  ghastly  in  the  moon- 
Ught. 

"  Take  that  man  below,  and  have  his  wounds 
looked  to,"  said  Captain  Estremera  to  some  of 
the  crew.  "  Senor  Hislop,  I  wish  to  speak  with 
you  alone  on  these  matters ;  and  meanwhile, 
Senor  el  Gobernador,"  he  added,  to  the  Dutch 
gentleman,  "  will  excuse  us." 

He  and  Marc  Hislop  now  retired  aft  to  the 
taffrail,  over  which  they  leant  and  conversed, 
whUe  the  most  of  the  crew  went  below  with  An- 


WE   SAIL   FOR   EUROPE.  339 

+onio,  who  would  no  doubt  give  them  his  ver- 
sion of  the  story  ;  while  I  remained  near  the  bin- 
nacle, anxiously  waiting  the  result  of  this  con- 
ference, and  watching  the  changing  features  of 
the  fertile  shore,  the  curved  bay,  the  foam-cov- 
ered coral  reef,  and  every  thicket  with  which  I 
was  so  familiar — the  palms,  the  chestnuts,  and 
bananas  —  as  the  great  Spanish  merchantman 
swung  slowly  round  at  her  anchor,  when  the  soft 
night  wind  veered  from  east  to  south. 

Silence  soon  reigned  fore  and  aft,  for  there  was 
none  on  deck  but  some  of  the  passengers,  smok- 
ing over  the  taffrail,  the  anchor- watch  amid  ships, 
and  some  of  the  Eug-enie^s  men  loitering  about 
the  forecastle-bitts,  that  they  might  have  an 
opportunity  of  speaking  with  me  before  turning 
in. 

It  would  appear  that,  being  loath  to  add  to  the 
number  of  his  crew,  who  were  a  mixed  and 
somewhat  mutinous  band  of  Spaniards,  Cuban 
Creoles,  and  lascars,  and  having  still  a  long  voy- 
age before  him,  he  offered  to  rid  us  of  Antonio, 
and  supply  us  with  muskets  and  ammunition, 
some  medicines  and  cooking  utensils,  some  old 
sails  and  spars  wherewith  to  erect  a  comfortable 
hut,  and  to  leave  us  all  on  the  island  of  Al- 
phonso,  to  the  chance  of  being  taken  off  by  the 
next  passing  ship,  which  very  possibly  might  be 
a  British  one. 

My  heart  died  within  me  on  hearing  this 
strange  and  most  unexpected  proposal. 


340  DICK    RODNEY. 

"  How  would  you  rid  us  of  Antonio,  senor  ?  " 
asked  Hislop,  gravely ;  do  you  mean  by  hanging 


iim 


?" 


"  Oh  no !  —  by  taking  him  with  me  to  Spain." 

"  For  what  purpose  ?  " 

"  To  have  him  tried  before  the  regidores  at 
Cadiz." 

"  "While  all  the  witnesses  are  left  behind  ? " 
resumed  the  Scotchman,  with  surprise. 

"  Demonio  —  that  is  true  I  "  said  the  captain, 
scratching  his  ear  again,  for  a  partiality  to  his 
countryman  was  evident,  and  a  little  use  of  the 
knife  is  not  deemed  a  very  heinous  crime  in  the 
land  of  Don  Quixote. 

"  You  can  all  work  ? "  said  he,  in  another 
tone. 

"  All  —  all  can  hand,  reef,  and  steer." 

"Bueno  —  one  English  sailor  is  worth  a  dozen 
Lascars ;  so  if  it  were  nut  for  breaking  an  agree- 
ment, I  would  maroon  them  all  ashore  there. 
Hanging  your  Cubano  might  be  very  useful  to 
terrify  some  of  my  crew  who  are  very  discon- 
tented ;  but  I  have  not  the  authority  to  do  so  — 
and  the  greater  is  the  pity,  as  I  shall  have  to 
feed  him,  and  there  is  no  use  in  feeding  up  a 
fellow  merely  to  hang  him.  Caramba !  there  is 
nothing  for  it  but  keeping  you  all  until  we  reach 
TenerifFe ;  —  I  shall  be  compelled  to  run  into 
Palma  or  Santa  Cruz  lor  fresh  water,  at  all 
events;  and  when  there,  I  shall  leave  the  whole 


WE   SAIL   FOR   EUROPE.  341 

affair  in  the  hands  of  Senor,  the  Captain- General 
of  the  Canaries." 

"  And  meanwhile  the  Cubano " 

"  Shall  be  pnt  in  the  bilboes  in  the  cable-tier, 
as  he  must  be  too  dangerous  a  picaroon  to  leave 
afloat  among  a  ship's  company  like  mine." 

A  berth  was  prepared  for  Hislop  and  me  in 
the  steerage,  while  the  rest  of  our  shipmates 
were  berthed  among  the  Spaniards  and  dirty 
Lascars,  neither  of  whom  were  much  to  their 
liking. 

Food  and  wine  were  immediately  provided  for 
me.  I  partook  of  them  greedily,  and  believe 
that,  but  for  the  new  strength  they  gave  me,  I 
should  have  sunk  altogether. 

Old  Tom  Lambourne,  Ned  Carlton,  and  Pro- 
bart,  the  carpenter,  now  rejoined  me  and  ex- 
pressed great  discontent  that  Antonio  was  not 
"run  up  at  once,"  adding  the  satisfaction  with 
which  they  would  all  have  "  walked  aft  with  the 
line,  had  he  been  at  the  othe^.  end  of  it,"  and 
prophesying  evil  to  the  ship  and  her  crew  if  he 
was  kept  aboard. 

"But  what  is  the  captain  to  do  ?  "  asked  Pro- 
bart;  "'taiti't  no  use  attempting  to  kill  that  Cu- 
bano —  he  is  either  Davy  Jones  or  the  Devil !  " 

"  Or  Whirlwind  Tom,  as  puts  maggots  into 

the  midshipmen's  nuts,"  said  Lambourne,  "  and 

makes  a  sound  ship  leak,  nobody  knows  how  or 

why ;    sours  the  burgoo  forward  and  the  wine 

■2a* 


342  DICK  RODNEY. 

aft;  makes  many  a  poor  fellow  lose  his  hold 
when  laying  out  on  the  yard-arm  in  a  dark  night, 
and  works  all  manner  o'  mischief  aboard." 

"  If  he  ain't  Whirlwind  Tom,  out  and  out," 
added  Probart,  solemnly,  and  with  increasing 
energy,  as  if  by  describing  their  own  fears  thej 
wished  to  apologize  for  their  desertion  of  me, 
"if  he  ain't  Whirlwind  Tom,  I  say  he's  some- 
thing as  bad,  and  I  wish  I  was  clear  o'  this  here 
craft,  before  he  works  us  all  a  mischief." 

"  I  think  he's  the  ghost  of  some  old  buccaneer . 
that's  been  hung  at  Port  Royal,  or  marooned  on 
the  Albuquerque  Keys  long  ago,"  said  Lam- 
bourne.  "  He  has  already  found  an  old  ship- 
mate aboard,  and  may  I  never  see  the  Nore 
again  if  they  wont  be  up  to  something  sly  before 
long :  for  that  fellow  has  sin  enough  on  his  soul 
to  sink  a  seventy -four  I " 

The  San  Ildefonso  was  a  beautiful  ship,  and 
very  man-o'-war-like  in  her  general  aspect. 

Her  decks  were  clean  and  spotless.  Every 
rope  was  tidily  belayed  and  coiled  away  in  its 
place,  and  the  brass  mountings  of  her  binnacle 
lamps,  of  her  wheel  and  capstan,  were  all  pol- 
ished till,  like  the  twelve  brass  nines  she  carried, 
they  shone  with  the  brightness  of  burnished 
gold. 

She  was  thoroughly  Spanish,  though  —  for  all 
the  food  on  board,  even  to  the  cabin  biscuits, 
had  the  flavor  of  garlic ;   and  every  thing  else, 


^E    SAIL   FOR   EUROPE.  843 

even  to  the  red  and  yellow  flag  at  the  gaff  peak, 
was  redolent  of  Havana  cigars. 

Her  cargo  was  valuable,  and  consisted  of  the 
most  choice  productions  of  Java,  such  as  sugar, 
coffee,  pepper,  indigo,  and  tobacco,  with  spices 
of  all  kinds. 

Among  her  cabin  passengers  she  had  the 
Dutch  Governor  of  Surabaya,  a  province  of 
Java,  which  is  bounded  on  the  north  by  the  sea 
of  that  name,  and  on  the  east  by  the  Straits  of 
Madura.  He  was  a  retired  soldier,  and  latterly 
had  been  a  planter,  and  was  now  returning  home 
to  Holland  with  a  vast  quantity  of  luggage,  in 
which,  as  Hislop  informed  me,  according  to  the 
rumor  current  about  the  forecastle,  an  almost 
fabulous  amount  of  guilders  was  packed  in  can- 
vas bags. 

"  And  with  a  crew  so  mixed  as  ours,"  he  ad- 
ded, "  it  is  the  reverse  of  pleasant  to  have  such 
constant  whispering  about  it,  when  we  have  to 
run  along  the  wildest  portion  of  the  west  coast 
of  Africa." 

For  three  days  the  San  Ildefonso  remained  at 
anchor  a  few  fathoms  off  the  reef,  while  her 
crew  took  every  thing  of  value  from  the  water- 
logged brig  that  lay  on  the  western  shore. 

Her  iron  cables  and  remaining  anchor,  her  cop- 
per bolts,  and  a  log  or  two  of  mahogany,  with 
some  coils  of  Manilla  rope,  were  brought  on 
board.  The  poor  fellow  whose  bones  were  hang- 
ing at  the  fore-channel,  found  a  Christian  grave, 


344  DICK   RODNEY. 

for  he  was  buried  near  the  rock  which  had  the 
Spanish  legend  carved  on  it ;  and  there  Fra  An- 
selmo,  the  Portuguese  missionary,  performed  the 
funeral  services  of  his  church  ;  and  solemnly  for 
the  unknown  dead,  the  prayer  seemed  to  go  up 
to  Heaven  from  that  lonely  islet  in  the  South 
Atlantic. 

Then,  to  my  joy,  the  boats  were  hoisted  on 
board,  —  the  topsails  were  cast  loose,  and  prepa- 
rations made  for  leaving  Alphonso. 

The  windlass  was  manned,  and  I  saw  Marc 
Hislop  with  the  rest,  handspike  in  hand,  heav- 
ing short  on  the  anchor,  in  his  anxiety  to  get  un- 
der way. 

"  Heave,  my  lads,  —  heave  and  rally  !  "  I  heard 
him  shout,  as  if  he  had  an  English  crew  under 
his  orders,  and  wished  them  to  work  briskly. 

The  anchor  was  soon  tripped,  and  the  head- 
yards  were  filled  as  she  payed  off ;  but  too  slowly 
for  Hislop's  sailor  eyes,  for  he  shouted  again  in 
English,  which  he  was  safe  to  use,  — 

"  Sheet  home,  you  lubbers  !  Oh,  Rodney,  how 
slow  these  jack-Spaniards  are !  I  would  rather 
have  one  of  our  own  sort  than  a  hundred  of 
them.  Never  mind  —  all's  one  for  that !  I'll 
have  my  foot  on  a  deck  of  good  British  oak  ere 
long.  Now  the  canvas  fills  —  she's  under  way 
at  last,  and  walks  through  the  water  like  a  brave 
and  handsome  craft  as  she  is !  " 

Now  the  island  of  Alphonso  began  to  recede ; 
the  tall  trees  lessened  to  shrubs     the  great  bluffs 


WE   SAIL   FOR  EUROPE.  .  345 

to  little  tufted  rocks,  while  the  arms  of  that  old 
familiar  bay  seemed  to  close  and  blend  with  the 
shore,  as  we  bore  away  to  the  northward  before 
a  fresh,  fair  southern  breeze. 

Though  I  detested  the  island  and  all  its  fea- 
tures, yet  I  could  not  but  watch  them  with 
interest,  for  it  was  a  shore  I  should  never  see 
again. 

The  evening  was  lovely,  and  the  blue  waves 
of  the  ocean  rolled  in  shining  ripjjles  which 
seemed  to  flow  along  with  us. 

Hislop  and  I  stood  on  the  forecastle  leaning 
over  the  lee  bow,  and  watching  the  white  foam 
bubbling  under  her  forefoot,  as  the  sharp  cutwater 
cleft  the  sea,  till  the  rising  spray  began  to  sparkle 
about  the  catheads ;  then  the  brine-dripping  an- 
chors were  fished  up  to  the  gunwale,  and  finally 
hoisted  on  board. 

Fresher  came  the  breeze,  and  now,  as  the  stud- 
ding-sail booms  were  rigged  out  to  port  and 
starboard,  the  ship  flew  through  an  ocean  crim- 
soned by  the  setting  sun,  and  I  heard  Hislop,  as 
he  sat  on  the  bowsprit,  singing  in  the  lightness 
of  his  heart,  — 

Gaily  we  go  o'er  the  salt  blue  seas, 
And  the  waves  break  white  before  us ; 

Our  canvas  aloft  swells  out  in  the  breeze ; 
And  home  points  the  pennant  o'er  us. 


346  DICK   RODNEY. 


CHAPTER   XLVL 

THE    HOMEWARD     VOYAQE. 

My  heart  beat  happily  ;  I  was  no  longer  a 
lonely  maroon,  but  on  the  high  road  to  home  and 
Old  England. 

We  had  several  days  of  the  finest  tropical 
weather,  and  they  passed  unmarked  by  a  greater 
incident  than  seeing  a  shoal  of  dolphins,  spark- 
ling as  they  surged  through  the  brine  ;  the  silvery 
flying-fish  leap  from  one  green  watery  slope  to 
another,  while  the  dark  crooked  fin  of  the  stealthy 
shark  glided  as  usual  in  the  trough  of  the  sea 
between ;  a  piece  of  weedy  drift-wood  with 
Mother  Gary's  chickens  or  albatrosses  floating 
near  it,  or  perhaps  at  the  horizon,  the  topsails  of 
a  vessel  hull-down,  appearing  for  a  time  like 
white  or  dusky  specks,  according  to  the  position 
of  the  sun. 

The  captain  of  the  San  Bdefonso  perceiving 
that  Marc  Hislop  and  I  were  great  friends  kindly 
placed  us  in  the  same  watch. 

As  for  Antonio  the  Cubano,  we  never  went 
near  him  if  we  could  avoid  it.  He  was  placed 
in  the  cable  tier,  and  for  more  complete  security, 


THE  HOMEWAED  VOYAGE.         347 

In  the  bilboes,  which  are  iron  shackles  that  con- 
fine the  feet.  However,  we  daily  heard  from  the 
surgeon,  and  from  Fra  Anselmo,  who  was  some- 
what skilled  in  surgery,  and  who  undertook  his 
cure  bodily  and  mentally,  that  the  wound  under 
the  right  armpit  had  proved  slight,  though  the 
lung  had  escaped  narrowly,  but  that  the  other 
in"  the  breast  had  penetrated  the  fleshy  portion  of 
the  heart,  and  was  a  very  dangerous  one.  The 
friar  added,  "  that  the  Cubano  was  not  one  of 
those  men  who  are  easily  kiUed,  and  thus  he 
would  recover  rapidly." 

We  also  heard  that  Antonio  was  well  cared 
for,  as  he  had  discovered  one  or  two  friends 
among  the  crew,  such  as  the  seaman  Benito 
Ojeda,  a  most  villainous-looking,  beetle-browed, 
and  squat  little  Catalonian,  who  seemed  to  be 
the  worst  character  on  board,  and  was  engaged 
in  perpetual  quarrels. 

"  As  we  approach  land,"  said  the  friar,  "  it  will 
be  necessary  to  have  both  these  fellows  well 
watched." 

"  Why  ?  "  asked  Captain  Estremera. 

"  Lest  they  plot  an  escape  or  mischief  for 
some  of  their  companeros  de  viage." 

Hislop  gave  me  a  quick  glance  as  the  old 
Portuguese  padre  said  this  ;  for,  of  all  the  per- 
sons on  board,  we  had  the  most  reason  to  dread 
this  fettered  fiend  getting  his  hands  and  feet  loose 
again. 


348  DICK   RODNEY. 

Thus,  in  our  berth  in  the  steerage,  I  was  fre- 
quently haunted  by  vi.  ions  of  wreck  and  danger 
—  of  sharks  opening  Iheir  jaws  to  devour  me  — 
of  being  thrown  overboard  —  of  bemg  again  ma 
rooned  on  that  wild  and  lonely  island,  where  no 
sound  of  life  met  the  ear,  save  the  chafing  of  the 
waves  upon  the  shore,  the  hum  of  insects,  and 
the  rustle  of  the  falling  leaves  in  the  solitary 
woods. 

But  chiefly  Antonio  was  ever  before  me,  like  a 
tormenting  spirit  or  the  monster-man  of  "  Frank- 
enstein." 

I  was  ever  engaged  in  fighting  with  him,  or 
escaping  from  him  ;  and  so  strong  was  this  idea, 
that  I  always  kept  by  my  side,  at  night,  the 
sword  with  which  I  had  wounded  him  when  he 
attempted  to  cut  me  off  before  reaching  Hislop's 
boat. 

Then  I  would  lie  awake  for  hours  thinking  of 
the  home  to  which  the  ship  was  bearing  me,  but 
which  I  might  be  fated  never  to  see,  and  watch- 
ing from  my  berth  the  square  patch  of  blue  and 
star-studded  sky  through  the  open  hatchway,  lis- 
tening the  while  to  the  hum  of  the  wind  through 
the  mizzen  rigging,  the  pattering  of  the  long  rows 
of  reef-points  on  the  sails,  and  at  times,  when 
looking  up,  I  could  see  the  little  round  trucks 
that  seemed  to  pierce  the  starry  welkin.  Then, 
when  about  to  drop  asleep,  I  would  start  to  in- 
stant wakefulness,  lest  the  feet  of  some  one,  com- 


THE  HOMEWARD  VOYAGE.         349 

ing  down  the  ladder  close  by,  might  be  those  of 
Antonio  —  of  the  assassin  escaped  from  the  bil- 
boes! 

One  evening  Hislop  and  I  were  in  the  second 
dog-watch;  we  had  just  had  our  coffee  below 
with  the  captain,  the  old  Dutch  Governor  of  Sura- 
baya, Fra  Anselmo,  and  other  passengers,  and 
had  come  on  deck  as  four  bells  struck. 

There  was  merely  wind  enough  to  keep  the 
canvas  fuU  aloft,  and  not  a  cloud  was  in  the  sky. 
The  sea  around  us  had  a  strange  tint  like  apple 
green,  that  paled  off  into  faint  blue  at  the  hori- 
zon, and  the  stately  Spanish  ship,  when  the 
wind  came  in  puffs  upon  the  beam,  careened 
gracefully  under  her  cloud  of  canvas,  between  us 
and  the  sky,  as  we  walked  to  and  fro  aft  the 
mainmast. 

Seated  under  an  awning  which  was  rigged 
above  the  topgallant  bulwarks  aft,  the  passengers 
were  enjoying  their  cigars,  the  men  were  all  in 
groups  about  the  deck  forward,  knotting,  splicing, 
and  conversing.  A  gang  of  the  copper-colored 
Lascars  were  squatted  on  their  hams  near  the 
hawse-hole  in  the  weather  bow,  all  smoking 
one  hubble-bubble,  which  was  made  of  a  large 
cocoa-nut,  and  which  they  passed  from  one  dingy 
moustachioed  mouth  to  another  in  the  most  free- 
and-easy  way  imaginable. 

Each  wore  a  dirty  turban  or  fez ;  their  blue 
tunics  and  brick-red   trousers  were    girt    at   the 

30 


350  DICK    KODNET. 

waist  by  a  tattered  sash,  in  which  the  deadly  and 
double-edged  Malay  creese  was  stuck ;  and  this 
costume  gave  them  an  aspect  as  picturesque  as 
the  swarthy  groups  of  muscular  Spanish  sea- 
men, in  their  brightly-striped  linen  shirts,  and 
with  their  heads  furnished  with  Barcelona  hand- 
kerchiefs, long  scarlet  caps,  or  twine  nets  to  con- 
fine the  masses  of  their  coal-black  hair. 

Suddenly  there  was  a  shout  forward,  and  we 
found  that  the  squat  little  sailor,  Benito  Ojeda, 
when  engaged  in  raising  the  foretopmast- stay- 
sail out  of  the  bowsprit  netting,  in  which  it  is 
usually  stowed,  had  fallen  overboard.  Three 
sharks,  which  had  been  following  the  vessel  for 
a  week  past,  would  soon  have  sealed  his  fate, 
but  fortunately  he  caught  hold  of  one  of  the  mar- 
tingale back  ropes,  and  holding  on  desperately, 
swung  above  the  spray  that  boiled  under  the 
bows. 

Hislop  skilfully  caught  him  in  the  bight  of  a 
rope,  and  he  was  hauled  in  hand  over  hand,  heels 
foremost,  looking  alternately  as  white  as  a  sheet 
and  as  red  as  a  boiled  lobster. 

"  I  don't  think  you've  done  the  ship  much  ser- 
vice, Master  Hislop,  in  fishing  that  ere  customer 
aboard  again,"  said  Tom  Lambourne,  in  a  low 
voice.. 

"  Why  so,  Tom  ?  "  asked  the  mate. 

"  Because  he's  the  chum  of  that  ugly  Cu- 
banny ;  and  a  down-headad  dog  he  is,  that  is  al- 


THE   HOMEWARD    VOYAGE.  351 

ways  skulking  fore-and-aft  when  off  duty,  whis- 
pering to  one,  twisting  cigarittys  with  another, 
and  brewing  mischief  among  the  whole  crew. 

Hislop  looked  round  at  the  squat  and  forbid- 
ding little  Espanol,  whose  head,  shoulders,  and 
general  bulk  were  so  great  that  he  looked  like  a 
big  man  cut  off  by  the  knees  ;  but  Benito  turned 
sullenly  away,  and,  without  a  word  of  thanks  to 
his  preserver,  joined  a  gang  who  were  hoisting 
the  flying  jib. 

By  the  association  of  ideas,  this  sail  made 
Hislop  and  me  think  of  the  spectral  ship  we  had 
seen  when  on  the  island  of  Alphonso,  and  which 
had  so  terrified  our  men. 

"  I  have  not  a  doubt,"  said  he,  "  that  it  was 
but  the  shadow  of  this  vessel  —  the  San  Ildefonso 
—  we  saw  on  that  night.  The  captain  permitted 
me  to  examine  the  ship's  log,  and  I  found  that 
at  the  same  hour  she  was  running  upon  a  wind, 
and  close  hauled;  that  her  cabin  lamp  was 
broken  by  an  accident,  that  the  watch  on  deck 
had  just  shaken  out  her  jib,  and  by  some  acci- 
dent let  the  jib-sheet  fly,  and  that  the  mate 
ordered  the  spanker  to  be  hauled  more  aft,  that 
she  might  answer  her  helm  better.  Could  we 
have  stronger  proofs  of  what  I  then  asserted, 
that  what  we  saw  was  but  the  dioptrical  refrac- 
tion of  a  vessel  under  canvas  elsew^here  ?  " 

"  It  was  a  startling  episode,"  said  I,  though 
his  meaning  was  not  very  clear  to  me  ;  "  thus  we 


352  DICK   RODNEY. 

need  not  be  surprised  that  foremast-men  like 
Tom  Lambourne  and  others  will  maintain  to  the 
end  of  their  days  that  it  was  the  Flying  Dutch- 
man they  saw,  and  nothing  else  !  " 

"  Very  likely  ;  but  according  to  tradition,  Van- 
derdecken  is  seldom  seen  in  these  seas,"  replied 
Hislop,  laughing ;  "  he  is  always  cruising  in  Ta- 
ble Bay,  or  knocking  about  in  the  seas  off  the 
Cape  of  Good  Hope,  as  any  old  salt  will  readily 
tell  you.  He  may  generally  be  known  by  his 
carrying  a  press  of  sail,  royals,  sky-scrapers,  and 
every  thing,  when  other  craft  can  scarcely  carry 
steering  canvas  or  double-reefed  courses  ;  and  he 
always  sends  off  a  boat  with  letters  for  Amster- 
dam, addressed  to  people  who  have  been  in  their 
graves  for  two  hundred  years  or  more.  Some  of 
these  letters  are  addressed  to  William  II.,  Prince 
of  Orange  (father  of  our  William  III.),  who  died 
in  1660,  and  are  offering  him  five  thousand  guild- 
ers and  as  many  Indian  mohurs,  payable  at  the 
bank  of  Amsterdam,  if  he  wiU  grant  them  a  par- 
don." 

"For  what?"  I  asked. 

"  Crimes  committed  on  board.  Other  letters 
are  addressed  by  the  crew  to  their  relations,  in 
places  that  no  longer  exist,  such  as  the  Haarlem 
gate  and  Cinghel-street ;  and  these  letters  are 
alike  dangerous  to  take  or  refuse." 

«  Why?" 

"  Because  they  bring  mischief  if  left  on  board, 


THE   HOMEWARD    VOYAGE.  353 

and  if  refused,  a  typhoon  comes  on  and    sinks 
you." 

"  He  is  a  pleasant  craft  to  be  overhauled  by, 
certainly ! " 

"  No  one  knows  the  origin  of  the  legend,"  said 
Hislop ;  "  some  say  she  was  a  Dutch  Indiaman, 
returning  laden  with  great  wealth,  when  her  voy- 
age was  arrested  by  dreadful  acts  of  piracy  and 
.  murder  which  were  committed  by  her  crew.  To 
punish  them,  Heaven  sent  on  board  a  pestilence, 
which  reduced  them  to  a  small  number  of  wasted 
and  worn  spectres,  who  sailed  from  port  to  port 
offering  all  their  ill-gotten  gold  as  the  price  of 
rest,  of  shelter,  of  prayers  for  their  sinful  souls, 
and  burial  for  their  shrunken  bodies ;  but  they 
can  never  die  ;  and  thus  from  every  haven  and 
harbor,  from  every  shore  and  town,  their  dread- 
ful aspect,  and  the  unexplained  plague  which  de- 
voured, without  destroying  them,  even  as  the  vul- 
ture preyed  upon  the  vitals  of  Prometheus  with- 
out their  being  consumed,  always  procured  their 
expulsion,  till  finding  they  were  shunned  by  all 
the  world,  they  were  compelled  at  last  to  cruise 
off  Table  Bay,  the  scene  of  their  crimes,  where 
their  spectre  ship,  always  the  precursor  of  a  storm, 
must  haunt  that  sea  until  the  day  of  doom ;  as 
Scott  has  it,  — 


* that  phantom  ship,  whose  form 

Shoots  like  a  meteor  tlrough  the  stonn, 
30* 


354  DICK.  RODNEY. 

When  the  dark  scud  comes  driving  hard. 
And  lowered  is  every  topsail  yard, 
And  canvas  wove  in  earthly  looms 
No  more  to  brave  the  storm  presumes ; 
Then,  'mid  the  war  of  sea  and  sky. 
Top  and  top-gallant  hoisted  high, 
Full  spread  and  crowded  every  sail, 
The  Daemon  Frigate  braves  the  gale  ; 
And  well  the  doomed  spectators  know 
The  harbinger  of  wreck  and  woe  !  " 

"  I  have  often  thought,"  continued  Hislop,  whose 
memory  was  singularly  retentive,  "  that  the  story 
may  have  originated  in  the  queer  old  nautical  idea 
of  a  downhill  current,  by  which  any  kind  of  craft 
that  doubled  Cape  Bojadore,  on  the  western  coast 
of  Africa,  could  never  return  ;  for  such  was  the 
fixed  idea  of  all  mariners  prior  to  the  voyage  of 
Bartolomeo  Diaz,  in  1486,  and  the  discovery  of 
the  Cape  of  Good  Hope.  For  this  downhill  cur- 
rent was  supposed  to  run  south  from  the  equator ; 
and  hence  ships,  however  close-hauled,  might  beat 
and  tack  against  it  in  vain ;  for  an  adverse  wind 
blew  forever  in  the  same  direction,  till  their  spars 
rotted,  their  sails  were  frittered  into  rags,  and 
their  rigging  wasted  away —  till  their  seams  gaped 
and  opened,  and  they  saniv  into  the  sea  a  worn- 
out  \VTeck." 

With  conversations  such  as  these,  combining 
amusement  with  instruction,  this  intelligent 
young  sailor  was  wont  to  beguile  our  watches, 
while  the  San  Ildefonso  sped  on  her  homeward 
track. 


THE  HOMEWARD    VOYAGE.  355 

We  recrossed  the  line,  and  each  successive 
morning  I  hailed  the  sun  with  fresh  pleasure,  as 
we  drew  nearer  the  latitude  of  Europe ;  but  we 
could  still  sniff  the  hot  wind  that  came  from  the 
deserts  of  Africa  ;  and,  ere  long,  the  more  experi- 
enced eyes  on  board  began  to  discover  to  the  east- 
ward a  blink  in  the  sky,  as  that  peculiar  appear- 
ance of  the  atmosphere  which  indicates  the  local- 
ity of  land  is  named  by  seamen. 


356  DICK   RODNEY. 


CHAPTER  XLVIL 


A    MUTINY. 


From  time  to  time  Lambourne  made  Hislop 
and  me  rather  mieasy,  by  expressing  suspicions 
of  a  collusion  among  the  men  forward. 

The  whispers  of  the  treasure  alleged  to  be  in 
possession  of  the  old  ex- Governor  of  Surabaya, 
and  the  desire  of  Ojeda  and  one  or  two  others  to 
save  Antonio  from  the  punishment  that  would 
certainly  overtake  him,  if  we  reached  Teneriffe  or 
signalled  a  Spanish  ship  of  war,  formed  an  un- 
pleasant conjunction  of  ideas. 

"We,  the  survivors  of  the  crew  of  the  poor  Eu- 
genie, knew  that  if  any  revolt  broke  out  among 
this  mixed  gang  of  dingy  rascals,  Spaniards,  Cre- 
oles, and  Lascars,  our  fate  would  be  sealed.  We 
were  among  the  first  who  would  assuredly  be 
knocked  on  the  head. 

There  must  be  great  truth  in  the  maxim,  that 
*'  no  human  being  ever  came  near  another  with- 
out influencing  them  for  good  or  for  evil." 

On  board  the  San  Ildefonso  it  would  seem  that 
Antonio  found  all  the  materials  for  evil  ready  to 
bis  hand,  as  more  than  half  the  crew  were  raga- 


A   MUTINY.  357 

muffins  "  engaged  by  the  run,"  as  the  phrase  is  at 
sea.  Bat  the  surmises  of  Lambourne  were  much 
too  vague  for  us  to  give  them  any  tangible  form 
as  yet ;  and  Antonio,  our  chief  object  of  dread, 
was  still  secure  in  the  bilboes  in  the  cable-tier. 

He  had  nearly  recovered  from  his  wounds.  I 
saw  him  only  once  below,  and,  in  his  impotent 
wrath,  he  ground  his  teeth  and  spat  at  me  like  a 
baited  polecat. 

We  saw  nothing  of  the  island  of  St.  Mathew, 
so  the  next  land  we  expected  to  sight  would  be 
the  isles  off  the  Cape  de  Verd  ;  but  the  wind  con- 
tinued to  blow  freshly  and  steadily  from  the  west, 
and  as  Jos^  Estremera  made  no  allowance  for 
current-saUing,  the  setting  in  of  the  sea  carried  us 
nearer  the  coast  of  Africa  than  was  either  neces- 
sary or  desirable. 

Thus  one  evening,  we  heard  the  cry  of  "  Ti- 
erra !  "  from  the  look-out  man  in  the  crow's  nest, 
and,  soon  after,  a  low  blue  and  wavy  streak  on 
the  lee-bow  was  declared  to  be  the  coast  of 
Africa. 

Though  sea  and  sky  were  reddened  by  the  set- 
ting sun,  the  rising  coast  wore  a  tint  of  the  deep- 
est indigo.  It  seemed  rather  flat  and  low  ;  but, 
as  we  crept  in  shore,  its  features  changed  and 
became  more  broken.  Thickets  of  strange  trees 
were  discernible  along  the  sea-margin,  and  then 
mountains  rose  in  the  distant  background,  with 
the  sunset  lingering  in  gold  on  their  summits. 


358  DICK   RODNEY. 

Night  fell,  and  the  ship's  head  was  kept  away 
a  few  points  more  to  the  west ;  and  when  day 
broke  we  were  all  on  deck  betimes  to  greet  the 
land. 

We  found  the  ship  off  Poison  Island,  which 
lies  far  northward  of  Sierra  Leone,  and  adjoins 
the  territory  of  the  Felletahs.  Many  of  the  na- 
tives came  off  in  their  carved  and  painted  canoes 
(which  were  propelled  by  paddles  shaped  Hke 
shovels),  offering  f»ait,  vegetables,  and  bananas 
for  sale ;  and  these  Africans  would  courageously 
shoot  their  light  boats  right  across  the  forefoot  of 
the  ship  while  still  under  way. 

At  last  the  mainyard  was  backed  for  a  few 
minutes,  while  Jos^  Estremera  bought  the  entire 
contents  of  a  large  canoe  for  a  few  empty  bottles, 
some  iron  rings,  and  the  links  of  an  old  chain. 

Some  of  these  craft  were  rowed  by  Felletah 
women,  and  I  could  perceive  that  though  deeply 
tanned  by  the  sun,  their  faces  were  pleasant  and 
oval,  their  noses  aquiline,  and  their  hair  black 
and  glossy. 

All  these  tawny  rowers  wore  striped  cloth  tu- 
nics, which  reached  to  their  ankles,  and  had  their 
necks  and  arms  loaded  with  beads  of  glass  or 
coral,  and  many  of  them  had  Spanish  dollars  at- 
tached to  their  ear-rings. 

A  gun  was  fired  as  a  warning  for  all  boats  to 
keep  off,  lest  some  accident  might  ensue ;  and  it 
was  amusing  to  see  the  consternation  of  the  poor 


A   MUTINY.  359 

Felletahs,  and  with  what  speed  they  paddled 
away  toward  the  shore. 

Orders  were  now  issued  to  lay  the  ship's  head 
nearer  the  wind  for  the  Cape  de  Verd,  and  to 
bend  the  cable  to  the  working  anchor,  that  it 
might  be  ready  for  any  emergency  ;  and  these 
directions  had  the  unexpected  effect  of  bringing 
matters  to  a  crisis  between  our  captain  and  the 
friends  of  Antonio. 

They  assembled  in  sullen  groups  about  the 
deck,  and  clustered  out  upon  the  booms,  where 
they  muttered  and  whispered,  and  frequently 
pointed  to  the  shore  and  to  the  native  boats  that 
were  paddling  into  the  sandy  coves  and  wooded 
creeks. 

Tom  Lambourne,  whom  Captain  Estremera 
soon  discovered  to  be  one  of  the  best  seamen  on 
board,  had  gone  below,  with  one  or  two  more,  to 
rouse  the  cable  out  of  the  tier,  when,  to  his  sur- 
prise, he  found  the  place  filled  with  Spanish  sail- 
ors and  Lascars,  all  talking  at  once,  and  in  full 
conference  with  the  fettered  Cubana  ! 

He  was  roughly  ordered  to  sheer  off  and  let 
the  cable  lie,  while  one  or  two  drew  their  knives 
in  a  threatening  manner. 

"  They  are  up  to  something  at  last ! "  said  he 
to  Carlton  ;  "  so  it  is  high  time  for  the  captain 
and  his  cabin  passengers  to  look  out  for  a  squall, 
or  that  old  Dutchman's  dollars  may  change  hand? 
at  the  capstan-head  before  night." 


360  DICK   RODNEY. 

Hislop  and  I  had  dined  with  the  captain,  and 
were  Imgering  over  some  wine  of  Alicaiit,  fruit, 
and  cigars,  listening  to  a  dispute  about  some  very 
irrelevant  matter  between  the  old  Governor  of 
Surabaya  and  Fra  Anselmo,  when  the  ship's 
steward  came  to  say  that  a  sailor  wished  to  speak 
with  us  in  haste. 

Tom  was  admitted,  and  bluntly  stated  at  once 
his  conviction  that  a  plot  had  been  laid  by  An- 
tonio and  others  to  seize  the  ship  and  run  her 
ashore.  If  such  were  not  their  intentions,  why 
had  they  refused  to  let  him  bend  the  cable  to  the 
working-anchor  ? 

Hislop  hurriedly  repeated  Tom's  statement  in 
Spanish,  adding  thereto  his  own  ideas  and  sus- 
picions on  the  subject. 

The  old  priest  and  the  rich  Dutchman  became 
seriously  alarmed ;  while  the  olive  visage  of  Cap- 
tain Estremera  grew  dark  as  night  with  anger, 

"  Ave  Maria  I  "  said  the  priest,  closing  his  snuff- 
box, and  putting  it  hastily  in  his  pocket. 

At  the  same  time  the  Dutch  Governor  started 
up  to  look  for  his  sword. 

"Seize  my  ship! — A  mutiny! — What  can 
their  object  be  ?  "  stammered  the  captain. 

"  With  some,"  replied  Hislop,  "  merely  to  have 
a  buccaneering  ramble  ashore  among  the  Felle- 
tahs  —  with  others,  to  marry  and  settle  for  a  time ; 
but  with  all,  to  have  a  scene  of  plunder  and  de- 
vastation, to  aid  in  the  escape  of  Antonio,  and  to 
murder  his  English  shipmates  " 


A  MUTINY.  361 

At  first  the  captain  was  inclined  to  doubt  the 
whole  affair  ;  but  a  stranre  noise  was  now  heard 
in  the  forepart  of  the  ship,  and  Manuel  Gautier, 
the  chief  mate,  came  hurriedly  down  to  report 
that  some  of  the  men  had  taken  the  iron  balls 
from  the  shot-rack  at  the  main-hatchway,  and 
were  rolling  them  about  the  deck  ;  and  that,  when 
qe  remonstrated' with  Benito  Ojedo,  there  was  a 
«ush  made  aft,  with  cries  of  "  Throw  him  over- 
board ! " 

On  hearing  this  sudden  confirmation  of  Tom's 
statement,  Estremera  started  from  the  table,  and 
buckled  on  a  cutlass  that  hung  on  the  after-bulk- 
head ;  and  then,  with  the  brevity,  but  characteris- 
tic taciturnity  of  a  Spaniard,  he  proceeded  to  act 
with  promptitude  and  determination,  and  in- 
stantly breaking  open  a  case  of  ball-cartridges, 
began  to  disti'ibute  them. 

"  If  so  be  there  is  a  breeze  on  board,  I'll  make 
that  Antonio  dance  Old  Nick's  hornpipe  before 
it  is  over !  "  said  Tom  Lambourne,  angrily. 

"  Fortunately,  all  the  ship's  muskets  are  be- 
low, I  believe  ?  "  remarked  Hislop. 

"  Si,  senor.  Twenty  stand  are  on  a  rack  in 
the  steerage,"  replied  Estremera.  "  Santos !  gen- 
tlemen, we  must  work  hard.  Get  all  those  arms 
into  the  cabin  and  load  them.  We  have  not  a 
moment  to  lose  ! " 

"  Run  on  deck,  Tom  ;  they  don't  know  that 
we  are   alarmed  yet.     Order  aU   the  Eugenie^s 

31 


362  DICK   EODNEY. 

men,  all  others  you  can  depend  on,  aft.  I  fear 
ours  are  the  only  lads  this  poor  Spanish  skipper 
can  rely  on  now!" 

In  less  th3.n  five  minutes  we  had  all  the  mus- 
kets conveyed  from  the  rack  in  the  steerage  into 
the  cabin.  We  provided  ourselves  with  hall-car- 
tridges ;  and  then  Hislop  and  I,  with  Manuel 
Gautier,  the  mate ;  the  old  Dutch  governor,  the 
captain,  and  even  Fra  Anselmo,  in  his  long  black 
soutan  (quoting  "  that  the  end  justified  the 
means")  proceeded  with  all  speed  to  load  and  cap 
the  fire-arms. 

Meanwhile,  the  rolling  of  the  loose  shot  upon 
the  deck  overhead  still  continued,  and  to  that 
noise  was  now  added  the  hallooing  of  the  Spanish 
crew  and  the  screaming  of  the  Lascars,  as  they 
proceeded  together  from  one  act  of  open  insub- 
ordination and  outrage  to  another. 


SEQUEL   TO   THE   MUTINY.  363 


CHAPTER   XLVIIL 

SEQUEL    TO    THE    MUTINY. 

There  were  on  board  the  San  Ildefonso  ten 
survivors  of  the  Eugenie,  including  myself ;  and 
fortunately  for  the  ship  at  this  crisis,  one  of  us, 
Francis  Probart,  the  carpenter,  was  at  the  wheel, 
and  remained  steadily  at  his  post  during  all  that 
ensued  ;  for  had  the  steering  been  relinquished 
for  a  moment,  the  vessel  would  have  broached  to, 
and  her  masts  must  have  gone  overboard. 

The  captain,  with  his  three  mates,  his  surgeon, 
and  cabin  passengers,  and  our  men,  made  up 
twenty  in  all ;  so  we  prepared  at  once  for  defen- 
sive operations. 

The  wild  hallooing  increased  with  the  thunder- 
ing of  the  iron  shot  overhead,  as  they  were  bowled 
aft  along  the  quarter-deck,  smashing  the  grated 
stern  seats,  and  rebounding  against  the  taifrail, 
over  which  some  of  them  tumbled  into  the  sea. 

"  We're  all  here,  sir,  —  Ned  Carlton,  Jack  the 
cook,  Warren,  Chute,  and  even  boy  Bill ;  but  we 
want  arms,"  cried  Tom  Lambourne  down  the 
skylight. 

"  On  deck,  and  at  them ! "  said  Hislop  ;  and  we 


364  DICK   RODNEY. 

rushed  up  the  cabin  stair,  supplied  each  with  two 
loaded  muskets  to  arm  our  friends  above. 

At  this  moment  the  ship  was  running  with  a 
fine  breeze,  which  was  pretty  well  aft.  She  had 
several  studding-sails  set ;  and  the  extremely  wide 
spread  of  her  white  canvas,  which  caught  the 
sea-breeze  one  way,  and  the  full  yellow  blaze  of 
an  African  sunset  the  other,  made  me  think  — 
but  the  idea  only  flashed  on  me  and  was  gone 
instantly  —  that  if  a  tropical  squall  came  on, 
while  in  contention  with  our  own  crew,  our  fate 
would  soon  be  sealed  by  the  elements. 

She  had  every  thing  set,  even  to  little  triangu- 
lar scrapers,  rigged  to  a  skysail  pole  above  her 
royals;  and  all  this  cloud  of  canvas  was  glit:er- 
ing  in  the  red  and  yellow  light  reflected  from  the 
sun  and  clouds. 

But  the  evening  was  lovely  ;  the  waves  were 
in  reality  shining  in  liquid  light  on  the  western 
quarter  of  the  ocean,  as  the  sun,  "  blood-red,"  to 
use  a  hackneyed  term,  dipping  down  past  a  suc- 
cession of  straight  and  horizontal  crimson  bars, 
sank  slowly  beyond  what  appeared  to  be  the 
flaming  edge  of  a  watery  world. 

But  we  had  no  time  for  poetry,  or  for  survey- 
ing the  scene  around  us.  That  which  was  about 
to  ensue  within  the  bulwarks  of  the  San  Ude- 
fonso  was  impressive  and  terrible  enough ! 

"  Hand  us  the  muskets,  gentlemen,"  said  Ned 
Carlton,  as  we  rushed  up  the  companion  ladder 


SEQUEL  TO   THE   MUTINY.  365 

"  Hurrah  for  the  tools  and  the  men  to  use 
them ! "  added  Tom  Lambourne,  quoting  some 
proverb,  as  the  arms  were  promptly  distributed  ; 
and  to  the  number  of  twenty  we  formed  a  line 
across  the  quarter-deck,  a  little  way  aft  the  mizzen- 
mast. 

This  was  achieved  just  in  time,  for  with  loud 
yeUs  of  "  Perros  y  ladrones  I ''  (dogs  and  thieves  I) 
"  Muera  Jos6  Estremera  I  Mueran  los  Inglesos !  " 
a  gang  of  yellow-visaged  Spaniards  armed  with 
knives  and  handspikes,  and  yellower  Lascars 
with  their  terrible  creeses,  rushed  aft  in  two  par- 
ties, one  on  the  weather  side  of  the  ship,  and  an- 
other on  her  lee ;  but,  on  being  suddenly  con- 
fronted by  the  levelled  barrels  of  twenty  muskets, 
they  paused  and  wavered,  though  continuing  to 
shout  and  brandish  their  weapons. 

"  Here  goes  for  a  shot  at  Antonio  !  "  said  Lam- 
bourne, taking  a  deliberate  aim  at  that  person  ; 
but  Fra  Anselmo  laid  a  hand  on  his  arm,  and 
besought  him  to  pause. 

"  Don't  spoil  him  outright  for  hanging,"  said 
Hislop  ;  "  I  would  rather  have  him  with  a  rope 
at  his  neck,  and  all  bearing  a  hand  to  run  him 
up  to  the  foreyard-arm,  than  shot  dead  like  a  spar- 
row." 

"  Come  on,"  shouted  our  men ;  "  come  on, 
muzzle  to  muzzle !  None  of  your  lubberly  stand- 
off work ! " 

"  Fire  at  their  legs,  and  simply  disable  as  many 

31* 


306  DICK   RODNEY. 

of  them  as  possible,  but  spare  life,"  said  Fra  An- 
selmo,  in  broken  English. 

"  Fire  at  their  heads,  kill  as  many  as  possible, 
and  spare  no7ie,  though  you  should  leave  the  ship 
unmanned  !  "  said  Estremera,  in  Spanish. 

Lambert  fired ! 

He  missed  ;  and  the  ball,  after  shaving  the  side 
of  the  long-boat  amidships,  whistled  into  the  sea 
far  ahead,  and  Antonio  uttered  a  fierce  and  de- 
risive laugh,  while  the  Lascars  shrunk  back  with 
fear. 

The  enemy  had  not  a  single  missile,  for,  most 
fortunately,  all  the  loose  shot  for  the  ship's  guns 
had  been  rolled  aft,  and  lay  in  our  rear. 

"While  both  parties  paused,  one  irresolute  to 
advance,  the  other  to  pour  in  their  volley,  I  — 
being  an  old  Eton  bowler  —  resolved  to  make  a 
wicket  of  the  Cubano's  legs.  I  took  up  a  nine- 
pound  shot,  which  lay  wilh  a  score  of  others  in 
the  lee  scuppers,  and  hurled  it  at  him  with  all  my 
strength. 

He  leaped  aside  nimbly,  and  escaped,  while  the 
shot  bowled  harmlessly  along  the  deck.  He 
rushed  after  it,  doubtless  with  the  intention  of  re- 
turning it  to  me  with  compound  interest ;  but 
fortunately  for  me,  at  that  moment  Hislop,  who 
had  lost  aU  patience,  and  was  no  doubt  smart- 
ing under  the  memory  of  his  wounds  and  of 
Antonio's  past  outrages,  cried,  — 

"  Fire  a  volley  and  fall  on  them,  my  lads,  with 
the  butt  ends  of  your  muskets  I  " 


SEQUEL   TO   THE   MUTINY.  367 

It  might  have  been  better  policy,  considering 
the  superior  number  of  the  mutineers,  for  ten  of 
us  to  have  fired,  and  ten  to  have  reserved  their 
fire  until  the  former  reloaded ;  but  Hislop's  order 
was  promptly  responded  to. 

We  all  poured  in  a  confused  volley,  and  then 
rushed  on,  in  the  smoke,  with  clubbed  muskets 
and  a  hearty  English  cheer. 

There  was  a  brief  struggle,  during  which  our 
men  laid  about  them  mercilessly,  and  knocked 
over  the  Spaniards  like  nine-pins ;  while  I  en- 
countered one  active  and  wiry  old  villain,  the  tin- 
dal  of  the  Lascars,  who  rushed  on  me  with  his 
creese  in  his  right  hand,  his  body  doubled,  and  his 
head  bent  down. 

Charging  him  breast-high,  the  muzzle  of  my 
piece  came  crash  upon  the  crown  of  his  caput, 
which  a  scarlet  fez  failed  to  protect,  and  so  I 
tumbled  him  against  one  of  the  brass  nines  to 
leeward. 

On  seeing  this  the  whole  of  the  Lascars,  in- 
stead of  coming  to  his  rescue,  fled  down  the  fore- 
hatchway. 

I  gave  the  tindal  another  tap  on  the  head  to 
enforce  quietness,  and  took  away  his  creese. 

"  Help  me  to  secure  this  rascal,"  cried  I  to  our 
men ;  "  he  will  be  a  surety  for  the  other  Lascars." 

"  I  have  him,  sir,  hard  and  fast,  as  if  clenched 
in  the  dry  nippers  of  a  Jamaica  land-crab,"  said 
Tom  Lambourne  ;  and,  in  a  few  seconds,  he  had 


368  DICK   RODNEY. 

the  old  copper-colored  rogue  seized  by  the  hands 
and  feet  to  one  of  the  aftmost  guns. 

Then  we  rushed  forward  to  share  in  the  scuffle, 
which  was  soon  ended ;  for  just  as  Antonio,  on 
seeing  the  turn  matters  had  taken  by  the  force  of 
our  superior  arms,  was  about  to  spring  overboard, 
Hislop  struck  him  senseless  by  a  blow  from  the 
butt-end  of  his  musket,  and  flung  him,  like  a 
bale  of  wool,  upon  the  top  of  the  Lascars,  who 
crowded  about  the  bottom  of  the  fore-hatchway 
ladder. 

"  Ha,  porpoise-face ! '"  said  he,  fiercely,  "  I  have 
"brought  you  up  with  a  round  turn  at  last !  " 

One  or  two  Spaniards  now  fled  up  the  fore- 
rigging,  whence  they  implored  us  not  to  shoot 
them  ;  but  the  squat  marinero,  Benito  Ojeda,  and 
all  the  rest,  were  driven  down  the  fore-hatch, 
where  they  crowded  at  the  foot  of  the  ladder, 
treading  the  Lascars  under  foot,  growling  and 
menacing  us  with  their  knives  and  creeses,  and 
threatening  to  set  fire  to  the  ship,  —  a  threat 
which  they  were  quite  capable  of  fulfilling. 

On  the  deck  lay  one  Lascar  dead,  and  two 
Lascars  and  one  Spaniard  who  were  wounded 
in  the  legs.  In  his  death  agony  the  first  had 
driven  three  inches  of  his  sharp  creese  into  the 
deck,  when  the  blade  broke  off. 

Probart  was  still  at  the  wheel,  steering  the  ship 
so  steadily  that  not  a  cloth  shivered  aloft ;  but 
night  was  coming  on,  and  as  she  was  covered 


SEQUEL   TO   THE   MUTINY.  869 

with  canvas,  to  reduce  it  was  necessary,  but  first 
the  mutinous  crew  must  be  crushed.  To  Probart, 
as  a  spectator,  the  co:;flict  must  have  presented 
an  exciting  scene ;  for,  had  we  been  beaten,  his 
fate  as  an  Englishman  would  soon  have  beei 
sealed. 

Jose  Estremera,  who  had  long  been  captaii 
of  a  Spanish  slaver,  was  inexorable  I 

"  Manuel  Gautier,"  cried  he  to  the  chief  mate, 
"  cast  loose  that  gun  in  the  weather-bow !  " 

Manuel,  a  smart  and  handsome  young  fellow, 
with  the  surgeon  and  two  others,  soon  cast  loose 
the  lashings  of  the  gun,  and  in  a  twinkling  it  was 
loaded,  not  with  round  shot,  but  with  some  thirty 
or  forty  ball  cartridges. 

"  Now,  forward  with  it  to  the  coaming  of  the 
>  hatchway,"  ordered  the  captain. 

"  But  the  bottom  of  the  ship  ?  "  urged  Gautier. 

"  Blow  these  rascals  through  it ! "  was  the 
stern  answer. 

"  Madre  de  Dios  and  all  the  saints  keep  us  I  " 
implored  Fra  Anselmo,  crossing  himself;  "  senor, 
you  do  not  mean  to  destroy  them  thus  ?  " 

"  Yes  —  like  rats,  padre  mio,"  replied  the  Span- 
ish captain.  "  Depress  the  muzzle,  hombres  — 
up  with  the  breech ;  clap  a  handspike  under  it, 
Gautier.  Ready  the  fuse  —  a  lucifer  match  or 
any  thing  will  do." 

"  Miserecordia  —  O  miserecordia ! "  cried  one 
fellow,   looking   up   the   hatchway   with  hands 


370  DICK   RODNEY. 

clasped,  for  the  aspect  of  the  round  muzzle  of  the 
depressed  cannon  filled  them  all  with  terror,  and 
made  the  miserable  Lascars  scream  like  children. 

"  Have  mercy  on  us,  senores ! "  howled  the 
Spaniards  in  chorus,  again  and  again. 

"  And  what  then  ? "  asked  Manuel  Gautier, 
who  was  preparing  a  gun-match,  as  coolly  as  he 
might  have  made  a  paper  cigarito. 

"  We  shall  return  to  our  duty." 

"  Oh !  no  doubt,  when  we  have  got  the  weather 
gauge  of  you  ;  but  we  mean  to  keep  it  you  cow- 
ardly picaroon!"  said  Estremera.  "  Up  yet  with 
the  breech  of  the  gun  —  cover  as  many  of  the 
wretches  as  you  can." 

"  For  pity's  sake,  senor,"  said  Fra  Anselmo, 
laying  one  hand  on  the  captain's  arm  and  the 
other  on  the  trunnion  of  the  brass  cannon. 

On  looking  down  the  hatchway,  at  that  moment, 
my  heart  sickened  when  I  beheld  so  many  cowards 
crouching  in  a  cold  sweat  beneath ;  so  many  up- 
lifted hands ;  so  many  olive  faces  turning  livid 
with  terror ;  so  many  dark  and  expressive  eyes 
glaring  upward  to  one  point,  —  the  muzzle  of  the 
brass  gun,  which  was  to  belch  down  death  and 
mutilation  among  them  ;  but  there  too  lay  Anto- 
nio el  Cubano,  covered  with  blood,  and  gazing 
at  us  with  something  like  the  smile  of  a  mocking 
fiend  in  his  countenance. 

"  We  are  ready  to  surrender,  senores,"  said 
Benito  Ojeda  ;  "  so,  if  you  fire,  our  blood  be  upon 


SEQUEL  TO   THE   MUTINY.  371 

your  heads,  and  on  that  of  EI  Cubano,  who  lured 
us  into  mischief!  " 

Their  united  cries  for  mercy  became  so  appall- 
ing, that,  though  they  would  have  yielded  no 
mercy  to  us  had  the  circumstances  of  the  case 
been  reversed,  Estremera  consented  to  withdraw 
the  cannon  on  three  conditions  : 

First,  that  they  would  surrender  every  thing 
they  possessed  in  the  shape  of  a  weapon. 

Second,  that  they  would  handcuff  and  deliver 
up  all  their  ringleaders. 

Third,  that  they  would  swear  to  be  faithful  to 
him  and  his  mates  for  the  remainder  of  the  voy- 
age. 

To  these  offers  they  agreed,  and  about  forty 
Albacete  knives  and  creeses  were  thrown  upon 
deck. 

Hislop  and  I  selected  one  or  two  as  trophies 
of  our  victory,  but  Manuel  Gautier  tossed  all  the 
rest  overboard. 

Ten  pairs  of  handcuffs  were  then  thrown  down. 
On  this  a  tremendous  row  ensued  among  the 
culprits,  who  were  only  quelled  on  seeing  the 
muzzle  of  the  brass  nine  appear  again  ;  and  in  a 
few  minutes  Antonio,  Ojeda,  and  eight  others 
were  forced  up  the  hatchway,  and  dragged  aft 
to  the  quarter-deck. 

The  mutineers  then  came  sullenly  up,  and  the 
number  of  cuts  and  bruises  about  them  showed 
how  severely  they  had  been  handled. 


372  DICK   RODNEY. 

On  their  knees,  before  Fra  Anselmo,  the  Span- 
iards made  a  solemn  promise  of  peaceful  and 
good  behavior  for  the  iuture  ;  as  for  the  Lascars, 
it  was  deemed  advisable  to  keep  their  tindal  as  a 
hostage  for  their  conduct  in  time  to  come. 

When  I  went  aft  I  found  him  lying  prostrate 
over  the  gun  to  which  he  was  bound,  incapable 
of  speech,  and  literally  foaming  at  the  mouth 
with  impotent  rage, 

Tom  Lambourne  laughed,  and  said, — 

"  Master  Rodney,  always  tie  the  hands  of  a 
Lascar,  if  you  wish  to  make  him  hold  his 
tongue." 

«  Why  ?  " 

"  Because  they  are  like  a  Chinese ;  they  can 
never  speak  when  their  hands  are  tied.  They  can 
only  sputter  and  choke  like  this  old  mountebank 
here." 

Those  who  returned  to  their  duty  received  ban- 
dages, wadding,  &c.,  for  their  cuts  and  bruises, 
and  even  a  tot  of  wine  each,  in  token  of  amity. 
The  three  wounded  men  were  placed  under  the 
care  of  the  surgeon,  and  the  dead  Lascar  was 
buried  by  his  countrymen,  who  cast  him  over  to 
leeward,  when  a  couple  of  sharks  soon  took  care 
of  him  ;  for  we  saw  a  black  crooked  fin  on  one 
side,  and  the  white  belly  of  a  second  monster  on 
the  other,  as  he  turned  up  open-mouthed. 

Then  the  body  vanished  in  a  whirlpool,  with  a 
downward jerA:  that  made  our  hearts  shudder ! 


SEQUEL   TO   THE   MUTINY.  373 

The  prisoners  were  ropes-ended  without  mercy 
by  Manuel  Gautier  and  the  other  two  mates ; 
they  were  also  repeatedly  drenched  by  buckets  of 
salt  water,  and  we  stood  by  with  cocUed  muskets 
until  the  whole  —  ten  Spaniards  and  one  Lascar 
—  were  secured  in  the  cable  tier,  where  an  armed 
sentinel  watched  them  day  and  night  during  the 
remainder  of  the  voyage,  a  duty  that  frequently 
came  to  my  turn,  as  I  was  a  kind  of  waister  on 
board,  and  was  seldom  sent  aloft. 

So  ended  this  exciting  and  most  deplorable 
affair,  which  might  have  proved  the  destruction 
of  the  ship  and  of  every  weU-disposed  person  on 
board. 

The  twilight  was  passing  with  tropical  rapid- 
ity, and  when  all  was  over,  the  hands  were  sent 
aloft  to  reduce  the  canvas. 

"  Stand  by  the  studdingsail-halyards,"  shouted 
Manuel  Gautier,  in  his  own  language.  These 
«iails  were  soon  taken  in,  and  the  lower  spars 
boom-ended  alongside,  while  the  royals  and  sky- 
sails  were  sent  on  deck,  the  loose  shot  were  re- 
placed in  the  rack  round  the  coaming  of  the  main- 
hatch,  all  loose  ropes  were  tightly  belayed  or 
coiled  away ;  and  now,  as  the  freshening  breeze 
came  more  and  more  aft,  the  stately  Spanish 
merchant  ship  bade  good-night  to  the  shores  of 
Poison  Island,  and  bore  away  through  the  silent 
sea  toward  the  Cape  de  Verd. 

32 


374  DICK   RODNEY. 


CHAPTER   XLIX. 

THE    COAST    OF    AFRICA. 

All  these  scenes  made  a  terrible  impression 
upon  me.  It  seemed  now  indeed  that  the  boy- 
ish "  dream  of  life  was  at  an  end,  and  that  its  ac- 
tion had  begun."' 

The  whole  affair,  in  all  its  details,  furnished  am- 
ple scope  for  conversation  in  the  cabin  for  some 
time  after ;  and  too  well  we  knew  what  our  fate 
would  have  been,  but  for  the  promptitude  of  Es- 
tremera,  and  the  courage  of  Marc  Hislop  and  his 
Englishmen. 

To  each  of  the' latter,  the  Dutch  governor  of 
Surabaya,  grateful  for  his  preservation  from  a 
cruel  death,  gave  a  gold  doubloon,  and  Jos^ 
Estremera  added  five  dollars  per  man. 

To  Hislop  and  me  he  presented  each  a  pair  of 
handsome  brass-barrelled  Spanish  pistols,  and 
from  the  governor  we  received  each  a  valuable 
diamond  ring ;  but  Marc  was  quite  the  lion  of 
the  cabin  passengers  during  the  remainder  of  the 
voyage. 

Fra  Anselmo  was  greatly  surprised  by  the  ex- 
tent of  his   scliolarship  and  varied   knowledge, 


THE   COAST   OF   AFRICA.  375 

which  far  exceeded  the  acquirements  of  most 
young  seamen ;  but  Hislop,  who  was  a  modest 
fellow,  considered  them  as  quite  a  matter  of 
course,  education  being  so  generally  diffused  in 
his  country. 

Among  our  men,  when  any  point  was  in  dis- 
pute, it  was  common  to  hear  them  say,  — 

"  Ask  Master  Hislop,  he  knows  every  thing." 

"  Of  course  he  does,"  added  Tattooed  Tom, 
one  day  ;  "  blowed  if  I  didn't  hear  him  beat  that 
Portuguese  friar  all  to  nothing  at  talking  in  three 
different  Ungoes  the  other  afternoon." 

"  Indeed,  Tom,  I  am  very  far  from  knowing 
every  thing,"  answered  Hislop  ;  "  I  am  only  a 
hard-working  seaman  like  yourself;  but  I  have 
picked  up  some  knowledge  of  different  matters. 
You  must  know  many  a  thing  that  I  don't  know, 
for  even  the  greatest  men  in  the  world  can  only 
learn  a  part  of  what  caii  be  known,  and  thus,  at 
times,  are  as  ignorant  as  those  poor  Lascars. 
But  I  have  to  thank  my  good  mother  at  home,  in 
old  Scotland,  for  sparing  nothing  on  me  when  a 
boy,  and  since  then  1  have  made  myself,  —  as  any 
man,  indeed,  who  has  the  will  may  do." 

And  it  seemed  to  me  that  there  was  much 
sound  sense  in  what  the  Scotchman  said. 

On  the  morning,  after  the  extinction  of  the 
mutiny,  we  came  to  anchor  a  league  to  the  north- 
ward of  Warrang,  for  what  reason  I  know  not 
unless  it  was  that  the  wind  blew  hard  and  the 
land  was  on  our  lee. 


376  DICK  RODNEY 

It  was  my  trick  at  the  helm  (as  the  two  houra 
usually  allotted  to  that  duty  are  named),  and 
when,  for  the  purpose  of  stopping  the  ship's  way, 
and  bringing  her  head  to  the  wind,  and  making 
the  canvas  shake  prior  to  furling  up,  Manuel 
Gautier  sang  out  in  Spanish,  — 

"  Timonero,  lufF  and  touch  her  ! "  I  did  not  un- 
derstand him,  and  nearly  had  the  wheel  twitched 
out  of  my  hands. 

The  anchor  was  let  go,  and  the  great  ship 
swung  round  with  her  head  to  the  wind,  which 
blew  from  the  westward,  and  with  her  carved 
and  painted  stern  to  the  green  and  wooded  isle 
of  "Warrang,  which  is  the  most  northerly  of  those 
that  compose  the  archipelago  of  the  Bissagos,  a 
group  of  twenty  little  isles,  lying  near  the  mouth 
of  the  Rio  Grande,  in  West  Africa. 

Banks  of  mud  and  sand  render  all  these  isles 
dangerous  on  the  seaward.  With  the  excep- 
tion of  Warrang,  they  are  all  inhabited  by  a 
wild  and  robust  race  of  savages  called  the  Bija- 
guas,  who  are  of  great  stature,  and  are  warlike 
and  intrepid. 

Though  thirty  miles  in  length,  Warrang,  with 
all  its  fertility,  is  destitute  of  inhabitants,  being 
totally  without  springs  or  water. 

While  at  anchor,  we  saw  a  dark  savage,  in  a 
canoe,  floundering  about  in  the  apple-green  shoal 
water  that  lay  between  us  and  the  land.  With- 
out fear  he  paddled  close  to   the   ship,  and  on 


THE    COAST   OF   AFRICA  377 

signs  being  made  that  he  might  come  on  board, 
he  moored  his  canoe  under  the  mizzen  chains,  and 
sprang  up  the  side  with  ease  and  confidence. 

He  was  a  tall  and  powerfully  made  man,  with 
features  of  the  lowest  African  type,  and  close 
curly  wool  on  his  head,  but  without  a  vestige  of 
clothing,  unless  a  string  of  beads  were  to  be  con- 
sidered as  such,  and  a  little  paint  like  ochre  in 
color. 

He  pointed  to  the  sea  and  then  to  his  parched 
mouth*,  implying  that  he  had  been  fishing,  and 
was  thirsty. 

Some  water  was  brought  from  the  scuttle-butt ; 
he  drank  of  it  greedily,  and  then  patted  his  breast 
in  token  of  gratitude. 

The  tattooing  on  Lambourne's  face  particu- 
larly attracted  his  attention,  and  seemed  to  excite 
his  admiration ;  but  poor  Tom,  with  whom  this 
unwished  for  decoration  was  a  tender  point,  had 
no  desire  to  fraternize  with  our  sable  visitor,  and 
walking  forward  he  leant  against  one  of  the  wind- 
lass bitts  and  smoked  his  pipe  sulkily. 

The  Bijagua  now  offered  us  his  fish,  which  were 
strung  upon  a  green  withe,  and  Estremera  pre- 
sented him  in  return  a  gaudy  old  muleteer's 
jacket,  which,  being  covered  with  brass  buttons 
and  red  braid,  would  thus,  he  conceived,  please 
the  eye  of  a  savage. 

The  Bijagua  turned  it  round  and  viewed  it  in 
vairious  ways,  as  if  it  puzzled  him,  upon  which 

3-2* 


378  DICK   RODNEY. 

Hislop  showea  him  how  to  put  it  on,  and  then 
attempted  to  persuade  him  to  run  his  arms 
through  the  sleeves. 

What  idea  occurred  to  the  savage  I  know 
not ;  whether  he  conceived  himself  insulted,  or 
that  his  personal  liberty  was  in  danger,  but  ut- 
tering a  yell,  he  overthi-ew  both  Hislop  and  Estre- 
mera,  and  springing  down  the  ship's  side  with 
the  agility  of  a  monkey,  reached  his  canoe,  and 
in  half  a  minute  was  clear  of  the  San  Ildefonso 
and  paddUng  vigorously  in-shore. 

"  This  reminds  me,"  said  Hislop,  when  he  had 
gathered  himself  up  and  regained  his  breath,  "  of 
an  old  voyager  of  whom  I  once  read.  About  a 
hundred  years  ago,  a  Captain  Weddel,  who  com- 
manded the  ship  Royal  Charles^  was  at  anchor 
in  Augustine  Bay,  off  the  coast  of  Madagascar, 
and  there  he  insisted  on  clothing  a  savage  in  a 
complete  suit  of  clothes,  including  a  bob- wig  and 
three-cornered  hat. 

" '  They  will  keep  you  warm,'  said  the  captam. 

"  '  But  I  am  warm  enough  without  them,'  re- 
plied the  savage,  wiithing  and  perspiring  in  attire 
so  unusual  to  him. 

" '  They  will  defend  your  skin.' 

"  The  savage  laughed  scornfully,  saying,  — 

" '  With  my  smallest  arrow  I  can  pierce  them 
through  and  through.' 

"  He  was  in  an  agony  of  fear,  and  felt  as  il 
fettered  with  irons,  and  entreated  so  earnestly  to 


THE   COAST    OF   AFRICA.  379 

be  set  on  shore,  that  his  wish  was  granted.  The 
moment  his  foot  was  on  the  land,  with  every 
expression  of  rage  and  fury,  he  was  seen  to  cast 
his  hat  one  way,  the  wig  another.  Then  he  rent 
the  coat  and  shirt  from  his  back,  the  breeches 
soon  folloM^ed,  and  he  spat  and  danced  upon 
them,  in  mingled  contempt  for  attire,  and  joy  that 
he  was  once  more  free.  Our  friend,  the  Bijagua, 
seems  certainly  to  have  shared  his  spirit  and 
ideas." 

In  the  evening,  on  the  wind  veering  round  and 
becoming  more  southerly,  we  prepared  again  for 
sea,  and  Hislop  was  directed  to  weigh  the  an- 
chor, by  underrunning  the  cable  in  the  longboat, 
as  the  tide  had  ebbed,  and  we  were  in  exceed- 
ingly shallow  water,  which  was  covered  with 
green  and  slimy  stuff,  probably  the  inland  debris 
of  the  Rio  Grande. 

This  mode  of  weighing  our  Scotch  mate  per- 
formed skUfully,  by  placing  the  chain  cable  over 
the  davit-head  of  the  boat,  and  underrunning  it 
till  the  anchor  was  apeak,  when  it  was  tripped 
by  means  of  a  buoy-rope. 

There  was  a  great  length  of  cable  out,  for  the 
water  was  so  low  that  the  ship  could  not  have 
been  hove  to  the  anchor  without  danger. 

"  We'll  make  saUors  of  these  Spanish  lubbers 
before  this  voyage  is  over,"  I  heard  Lambourne 
say  to  Hislop,  as  they  scrambled  on  board,  and 
then  the  boat  was  hoisted  in. 


380  DICK    RODNBi". 

The  evening  sun  was  burning  hot,  and  shed  a 
red  glare  upon  the  green  slime  of  the  shallow 
sea,  till  it  seemed  to  swelter  in  its  heat,  emitting 
an  oppressive  miasma  that  would  have  been 
deadly  had  we  lingered  long  there. 

The  strange  trees  that  fringed  the  shore  were 
seen  to  toss  their  great  cabbage-like  leaves  on  the 
rising  wind ;  but,  as  we  speedily  receded  from 
the  coast,  they  gi-adually  lessened  to  the  size  of 
shrubs,  and  from  shrubs  to  the  size  of  little  weeds, 
until  they  finally  disappeared,  when  Warrang 
melted  into  the  waves  astern,  as  the  San  Ilde- 
fonso  soon  made  a  good  offing  and  bore  away 
to  sea. 

Our  prisoners  were,  now  very  effectually  sub- 
dued. 

More  heavily  ironed  than  the  rest,  Antonio  sat 
ever  silent  and  sullen,  with  his  black-bearded 
chin  sunk  upon  his  breast ;  and  frequently  when 
it  came  to  my  turn  to  be  posted  as  sentinal  over 
him  and  the  others  in  the  cable  tier,  I  could  see, 
by  the  dim  light  of  the  horn  lantern,  which 
swung  from  the  beam  above  (serving  chiefly  "  to 
make  the  darkness  visible  "),  his  keen,  fierce  eyes 
fixed  on  me  with  a  rattlesnake  glare,  which 
seemed  to  say,  if  a  glance  of  hate  and  spite  could 
kill,  he  would  slay  me. 

After  he  became  used  to  having  his  hands 
fettered,  the  old  lindal  of  the  Lascars  was  by  far 
the   most  lively   and  conversable  of  the  dingj 


THE   COAST   OF    AFRICA.  381 

gang,  who  all  sat  in  a  row,  with  their  feet  locked 
in  the  iron  bilboes. 

One  day  I  gave  this  old  fellow  some  wine  and 
water,  when  he  was  almost  sinking  amid  the 
stifling  atmosphere  of  the  den  in  which  he  was 
confined. 

His  gratitude  was  unbounded,  and  in  a  burst 
of  confidence  —  which  brought  upon  him  the  mal- 
edictions of  the  rest  —  he  informed  me  in  bro- 
ken English  (of  which  he  had  picked  up  a  smat- 
tering during  a  voyage  in  one  of  our  old  India- 
men),  that  had  the  mutiny  been  successful,  every 
one  of  us  would  have  been  made  to  walk  the 
plank  to  leeward,  and  then  the  ship  was  to  have 
been  run  ashore  in  some  convenient  creek,  dis- 
masted there,  to  conceal  her  from  the  seaward, 
and  then  to  be  completely  plundered;  —  on  the 
whole,  unfolding  a  strange  and  incomprehensible 
project. 

When  he  concluded,  I  smiled  significantly, 
and  tapped  the  butt  of  my  loaded  musket,  as 
much  as  to  say, — 

"  It  is  all  very  well,  old  boy,  but  we  weathered 
you  fairly ! " 

As  we  approached  the  Cape  de  Verd,  Estre- 
mera  issued  strict  orders  that  no  man  was  to  sleep 
on  deck  at  night,  for  fear  of  moon  blindness —  an 
ailment  not  uncommon  in  the  tropics.  An  old 
voyager.  Sir  Richard  Hawkins,  relates  that  the 
moon's  rays  off  the  African  coast  have  a  singu- 


382  DICK    RODNEY. 

larly  pernicious  effect  upon  the  human  body,  and 
that  "  he  knew  a  person  who,  sleeping  one  night 
in  his  cabin  on  the  coast  of  Guinea,  with  the 
moon  shining  upon  him,  had  such  a  violent  pain 
burning  in  his  shoulder,  that  for  above  twenty 
hours  he  was  like  a  madman,  and  was  not  freed 
from  it  at  last  without  a  great  many  applications 
and  abundance  of  suffering  ; "  though  what  this 
ailment  was,  would  now  greatly  puzzle  one  to 
discover. 

After  a  delightful  run,  on  one  of  the  last  days 
of  autumn,  we  sighted  the  Cape  de  Verd  and  the 
Isle  of  Goree. 

Those  rose  on  our  starboard  bow,  rapidly  and 
abruptly,  for  the  ship  was  running  before  the 
wind  at  the  rate  of  nine  knots  an  hour,  with  aU 
her  studding-sails  rigged  out. 

.It  was  about  dawn  when  land  was  first  dis- 
covered from  aloft,  and  by  midday  the  Isle  of 
Goree  bore  about  three  miles  off  on  our  starboard 
beam. 

The  wind  now  feU  light,  and,  as  the  ship  crept 
along,  we  had  a  good  opportunity  for  observing 
the  coast  by  our  telescopes. 

Fra  Anselmo,  who  had  once  resided  there  as 
a  missionary,  drew  my  attention  to  the  sea  of 
floating  weeds,  called  the  sargasso,  through  which 
we  were  sailing,  —  weeds  which  are  so  brilliant 
and  so  green  as  to  impart  a  peculiar  hue  to  the 
water,  and  thereby  gave  the  promontory  its  name, 
—  the  Cape  de  Verd. 


THE    COAST   OF   AFRICA.  393 

Along  the  shore  we  could  see  groves  of  the 
orange,  the  lemon,  the  pomegranate,  and  the  cit- 
ron tree,  with  their  ripe  golden  fruit  studding  the 
green  foliage  like  golden  balls. 

On  the  almost  inaccessible  isle  of  Goree,  Fra 
Anselmo  showed  to  us  the  old  castle  of  St.  Mi- 
chael, which  was  built  by  the  Dutch  in  1617,  and 
stormed  forty-six  years  after  by  the  English,  un- 
der Admiral  Holmes.  In  1664  it  was  retaken  by 
Adrian  de  E-uyter,  after  a  little  band  of  sixty 
British  soldiers,  under  a  Scotsman,  named  Sir 
George  Abercrombie,  made  a  defence  so  pro- 
tracted and  so  resolute,  that  they  only  surren- 
dered after  the  walls  were  battered  to  ruin,  and 
all  their  ammunition  was  expended. 

It  was  not  without  deep  interest  that  we  viewed 
these  scenes  and  heard  those  forgotten  fragments 
of  our  past  history,  when  so  far  from  old  Eng- 
land, and  while  sailing  along  a  shore  so  wild  and 
vast  as  Africa. 

We  used  soundings  while  skirting  the  dangei- 
ous  shoal  known  as  Compan's  Bank,  over  which 
it  is  alleged  a  famous  buccaneer,  named  Nicho- 
las Compan,  sailed  his  galley  ;  and  by  sunset  the 
Cape  de  Verd  was  far  astern,  and  nothing  but 
the  blue  sea  around  us  again ;  for  now  ihat  won- 
drous shore  receded  eastward,  far  away  toward 
the  mouth  o  *  the  Senegal. 


3S4  DICK   RODNEY. 


CHAPTER   L. 


SANTA    CRUZ. 


A  FEW  days  after  crossing  the  tropic  of  Cancer, 
on  a  lovely  afternoon,  we  again  saw  the  Peak  of 
Teneriffe  lighted  up  by  the  western  sunshine, 
and  rising  like  a  cone  of  red  flame  from  the  blue 
sea. 

The  clouds  seemed  to  rise  with  it,  and  ere  long 
we  saw  its  base  spreading  out  beneath  them. 

"  Tennyreef  again ! "  I  heard  old  Tom  Lam- 
bourne  muttering,  as  he  leaned  over  the  lee  bow 
with  a  short  pipe  in  his  mouth  ;  "  Dash  my  wig ! 
I  have  had  a  spell  enough  of  Tennyreef  before 
this  !  " 

Manuel  Gautier  and  Hislop  now  came  with  a 
party  of  seamen  to  get  the  anchors  off  the  fore- 
castle to  her  bows.  This  was  no  light  task,  the 
reader  may  be  assured,  for  they  were  each  about 
forty-five  hundred  weight ;  and  now  the  ponder- 
ous cables  rattled  along  the  deck  as  they  were 
bent  to  the  iron  rings. 

We  approached  this  singular  island  from  a  point 
that  was  new  to  me ;  but  still  its  great  and  most 
familiar  features  were  the  same  as  when  I  first 
saw  them  from  the  deck  of  the  Eugenie. 


SANTA   CRUZ.  385 

Estremera  now  reminded  us  that,  when  at  Ten- 
eriffe,  we  should  not  fail  to  visit  the  two  great 
sights  of  the  island  —  the  Valley  of  the  Diamond 
and  the  old  Dragon-tree  of  Caora. 

The  wind  was  fresh  and  fair,  but  fell  light  after 
sunset;  and  when  the  high  land  of  the  Grand 
Canary  was  on  our  starboard  beam,  it  almost 
died  away.  As  we  crept  on  we  saw  the  lighthouse 
at  the  base  of  La  Montana  Roxo,  sparkling  like 
a  star  above  the  waves  of  the  sea,  which  in  the 
warm  sunset  seemed  to  have  turned  into  blood 
or  port- wine,  so  deeply  crimson  was  the  glow  that 
lingered  on  the  clouds  and  on  the  shore  ;  and  then 
the  vast  peak —  save  where  gndled  in  mid  air  by 
a  light  floating  vapor  —  seemed  all  of  a  deep  vio- 
let tint,  dotted  at  its  base  by  the  white  walls  of 
houses,  or  of  sugar- mills,  and  by  groves  of  cocoa 
and  rosewood  tiees. 

Darkness  was  soon  there,  but  still  the  sunset 
lingered  in  rays  of  fire  upon  the  mighty  Peak  of 
Adam,  on  which  the  eye  never  tired  of  gazing. 

By  midnight  we  were  abreast  of  it,  and  all  was 
darkness  at  last,  save  where  the  millions  of  stars 
were  sparkling  in  the  wide  blue  dome  of  the 
sky. 

Hislop  and  I  were  in  the  morning  watch  when 
the  ship  arrived  off  the  mouth  of  the  harbor  of 
Santa  Cruz  —  that  pretty  town,  which  Humboldt 
termed  the  grand  caravanserai  between  Spain 
and  the  Indies. 

33 


386  DICK   RODNEY 

A  flash  that  broke  upon  the  darkness,  with  a 
light  puff  of  smoke  floating  away  from  the  old  cas- 
tle walls,  indicated  the  morning  gun,  and  that 
dawn  was  visible. 

It  seemed  as  if  it  were  but  yesterday  when  the 
Eugenie  and  the  Costa  Rican  brig  had  worked 
out  of  the  same  harbor  together,  in  the  same  spe- 
cies of  dull  twilight,  and  that  all  which  had  passed 
since  that  time  had  been  a  dream. 

We  beat  in  with  the  breeze  ahead.  The  light 
of  another  day  was  rapidly  descending  from  the 
summit  of  the  peak,  and  already  that  green  girdle, 
named  the  Region  of  Laurels,  was  shining  in  the 
sunbeams  ;  so  ere  long  we  saw  the  windows  of 
the  custom-house,  which  stands  above  the  long 
mole,  and  all  the  shaded  lattices  of  the  terraced 
streets  of  Santa  Cruz,  glittering  in  gold  and  pur- 
ple sheen. 

The  anchors  were  ready  to  be  let  go  ;  the  chain- 
cables  were  ranged  upon  deck  in  long  coils  that 
ran  fore  and  aft ;  we  tacked  repeatedly ;  and 
each  time  the  tacks  became  shorter  and  more  fre- 
quent. 

"  Ready  about !  Presto  I  down  with  the  helm, 
■ —  let  fly  the  head-sheets  I  "  were  the  orders  heard 
incessantly  from  Estremera  and  Manuel  Gau- 
tier. 

The  yards  slewed  round  sharply,  and  the  can- 
vas flapped  with  a  sound  like  the  cracking  of 
musketry ;  at  last,  the  anchor  was  let  go  about  a 


SANTA   CRUZ.  387 

half-mile  from  the  shore  in  thirty  fathoms  water 
and  the  ship  swung  round  head  to  wind  as  her 
courses  were  brailed  up,  and  the  men    hunied 
aloft  to  hand  the  topsails  and  topgallant-sails ; 
so  she  was  soon  denuded  of  her  canvas. 

When  the  anchor  plunged  into  the  frothy  wa- 
ter, making  a  thousand  concentric  ripples  run 
from  the  ship  ;  and  when  I  felt,  by  the  instant 
strain  upon  the  cable,  that  she  had  firm  hold  of 
the  ground,  my  heart  swelled  with  unalloyed  hap- 
piness ;  for  to  be  in  TenerifFe  was  to  be  far  on  the 
watery  high  road  to  my  home. 

Santa  Cruz,  being  the  capital  of  these  isles,  is 
the  residence  of  the  Captain- General  of  the  Ca- 
naries, the  seat  of  the  supreme  court  of  law,  and 
of  all  the  consuls  and  commissaries  of  foreign 
powers,  whose  various  flags,  when  displayed  upon 
their  houses,  make  the  handsome  streets  as  gay 
in  aspect  as  the  harbor,  which  is  always  crowded 
by  the  shipping  of  every  nation. 

A  custom-house  boat,  with  the  Spanish  ensign 
floating  at  the  stern,  came  promptly  off"  with  an 
official,  a  dandified  Creole  in  uniform,  with  a  som- 
brero on  his  curly  head,  a  sabre  at  his  side,  and 
a  cigar  in  his  mouth.  To  him  Captain  Estre- 
mera  made  a  full  report  of  the  mutiny  which  had 
broken  out  in  his  ship  when  off"  the  African  coast, 
and  the  stern  mode  of  its  suppression. 

Hence,  in  two  hours  after,  we  had  the  satisfac- 
tion of  seeing  Antonio  el  Cubano,  Benito  Ojeda, 


388  DICK    RODNEY. 

the  old  tiiidal  of  the  Lascars,  and  eight  other  ras- 
cals, taken  off  to  the  Castle  of  Santa  Cruz,  in  a 
large  open  boat,  guarded  by  twelve  Spanish  sol- 
diers, in  charge  of  a  lieutenant,  Don  Luiz  Pineda. 

I  can  still  recall  the  glance  of  impotent  and 
baffled  malignity  that  Antonio  bestowed  on  us 
as  he  went  down  the  ship's  side.  It  combined 
all  the  worst  emotions  of  his  angry  heart,  and 
somewhat  reminded  me  of  his  face  in  that  terri- 
ble moment  when  he  swung  at  the  end  of  the  stud- 
dingsail-boom,  with  despair  in  his  clutch  and  death 
at  his  heart. 

We  watched  the  boat  till  it  reached  the  long 
stone  mole,  and  then  we  saw  the  fixed  bayonets 
of  the  escort  flashing,  as  Ihe  whole  party  ascended 
the  great  stair  toward  the  custom-house,  and  sur- 
rounded by  a  mob  of  those  nautical  idlers  who 
usually  make  a  pier  their  lounge,  disappear  in  the 
interior  of  the  town,  as  they  marched  toward  the 
castle. 

Two  episodes  more  wiU  close  the  story  of  An- 
tonio, —  his  trial  and  punishment. 


THE   OLD   DRAGON-TREE   OF   CAORA.  389 


CHAPTER  LI. 

THE  OLD  DRAGON-TREE  OF  CAORA. 

The  trial  caiTie  on  in  a  couple  of  days  after, 
and  proceeded  with  a  celerity  unknown  in  Eng- 
land or  Scotland  either.  We  were  all  examined, 
and  previously  w^ere  sworn,  not  on  a  Bible,  but 
over  two  sword-blades  held  in  the  form  of  a  cross, 
—  for  such  is  the  old  chivakic  custom  in  a  Span- 
ish court  of  law. 

Without  hesitation  the  judges  found  Antonio 
guilty  ;  he  was  sentenced  to  die  by  the  garotte  ; 
and  heard  his  doom  with  apparent  apathy. 

The  tindal  of  the  Lascars  was  released,  as  it 
would  appear  that  he  had  acted  under  compul- 
sion ;  but  Benito  Ojeda  and  eight  other  Spanish 
seamen  were  sentenced  to  work  in  the  fortifica- 
tions or  on  the  highways  for  ten  years,  in  chains, 
as  felons  or  galley-slaves. 

The  trial  over,  Hislop  and  I  gladly  left  the 
crowded  hall  of  justice,  and  made  our  way  through 
the  streets  of  Santa  Cruz,  passing  a  mingled 
population  of  yellow  mulattoes,  Spanish  laborers, 
negro  water-carriers,  mercantile  men,  old  ecclesi- 

33* 


390  DICK   RODNEY. 

astics,  and  importunate  beggars,  till  we  reached 
onr  hotel,  the  windows  of  which  faced  the  sea. 

There  we  resolved  to  dine,  and  then  ride  over 
to  Orotava,  to  see  the  wonderful  tree  which  grows 
near  it,  taking  care,  however,  to  provide  ourselves 
with  rifles  and  ammunition  for  our  protection 
as  the  adventures  of  Tom  Lambourne  and  my- 
self were  too  recent  to  be  forgotten. 

On  our  return  we  hoped  to  be  able  to  visit  the 
Valley  of  the  famous  Diamond,  which  was  only 
visible  in  the  night. 

I  have  little  more  to  relate  now  than  what 
would  seem  more  suitable  to  a  traveller's  com- 
monplace book  than  the  conclusion  of  adventures 
so  wild  as  mine  have  been ;  and  so  must  hasten 
on. 

At  the  posada  in  the  main  street  of  Santa 
Cruz  we  procured  horses  ;  and  leaving  the  fertile 
plain  in  which  the  little  city  stands,  traversed  a 
bleak  and  barren  mountain-track  for  some  leagues, 
until  we  reached  the  town  of  Orotava,  or  Caora, 
as  it  was  named  of  old  when  the  Dragon-tree 
was  a  sapling.  It  is  built  on  the  western  side  of 
the  isle,  and  is  both  pretty  and  picturesque. 

The  mighty  force  of  the  Atlantic  was  breaking 
on  the  shore,  in  billows  so  vast,  so  white,  so  over- 
arching, and  with  a  sound  so  thundering,  that 
they  exceeded  all  we  had  ever  heard  before.  The 
sky  was  becoming  black  to  the  northwest,  and  he 
could  see  the  ships  at  anchor  near  Porto  de  la  O 


THE  OLD  DRAGON-TREE  OF  OAORA.     391 

getting  under  way,  and  shaking  out  their  courses 
with  all  speed,  to  make  a  safe  offing  in  case  a 
squall  came  on. 

Orotava,  a  pretty  little  town,  clean  and  neatly 
built,  stands  upon  the  green  slope  of  a  beautiful 
hill,  and  faces  the  Atlantic.  Ruins  of  sugar-mills 
and  wine-presses  were  to  be  seen  here  and  there 
among  the  corn  and  maize-fields,  the  vineyards 
and  gardens  ;  for  these  remains,  now  almost  cov- 
ered by  creepers  and  luxuriant  plants,  are  the 
ruined  fragments  of  the  edifices  destroyed  by  the 
gi'eat  hurricane  of  1826. 

We  reached  an  inn,  gave  our  horses  to  the 
stable-boy,  dined  on  a  galina  stewed  with  beans 
(and  garlic  of  course)  ;  we  had  some  native  wine, 
and  for  a  shilling  might  have  had  a  sackful  of 
pineapples. 

From  the  windows  of  the  posada,  as  we  sat  at 
dinner,  we  watched  the  waves  rolling  in  moun- 
tains of  snowy  foam,  before  the  wind,  in-shore  ; 
and  all  the  craft  weighing  or  slipping  their  cables, 
and  beating  close-hauled  under  topsails  and 
courses  to  attain  good  sea-room,  lest  they  might 
be  driven  on  the  rocks.  It  was  a  lively  sight, 
and  a  stirring  one. 

"  Oh,  for  a  fair  wind  when  we  sail  again ! " 
said  I.  "  I  would  beg,  borrow,  or  steal  one,  if  I 
knew  where  such  commodities  were  to  be  had." 

"'Tis  a  pity  you  are  not  a  subject  of  King 
Eric- with -the- Windy- Cap,"  replied  Hislop,  while 


392  DICK   RODNEY. 

making  up  a  cigarito.  "  See  how  clumsily  those 
lubbers  sheer  that  brig  to  her  anchor  I  Why  the 
deuce  don't  they  keep  the  current  right  ahead, 
and  lessen  the  strain  on  the  chain-cable?  I 
shouldn't  like  to  have  jny  fingers  between  it  and 
the  hawse-pipe  just  now.  Why,  she's  forging 
broadside  on! " 

"  Who  was  King  Eric-with-the- Windy-Cap  ?  " 
I  asked. 

"  Did  you  ever  read  Olaus  Magnus  !  " 

"  No ;  the  name  would  seem  enough  for  me. 
Moreover,  we  don't  read  Scotch  poetry,  at  Eton." 

"  He  was  one  of  the  oldest  annalists  of  Scan- 
dinavia, and  you  lose  a  deal  in  not  reading  him." 

"  Well,  but  this  Eric "  I  resumed. 

"  Was  King  of  Sweden.  He  was  surnamed 
Waderhat,  and  was  deemed  in  his  time  a  great 
sorcerer,  —  so  great,  that  he  ranked  second  to  none 
in  that  kind  of  craft.  He  was  on  the  most  fa- 
miliar terms  with  all  Jdnds  of  goblins  and  evil 
spirits,  and  constructed  a  peculiar  cap,  which  by 
spells  he  endowed  with  such  extraordinary  power 
that  the  wind  would  blow  from  whichever  -way 
he  chose  to  tm-n  it.  Our  old  Scotch  fishermen 
in  Orkney  and  Shetland,  who  are  half  Norse- 
men, can  spin  yarns  by  the  hour  about  King 
Eric  Waderhat;  and  it  was  by  his  aid,  says 
Olaus,  and  thus  being  able  to  have  always  a 
fair  wind,  that  the  great  pirate,  Regner,  King  of 
Denmark,  who  was  his  nephew,  carried  the  ter- 


THE  OLD  DRAGON-TREE  OP  CAORA.     393 

ror  of  his  name  to  the  uttermost  parts  of  Europe. 
But  now,  Dick,  as  the  bones  of  the  galina  are 
picked  clean,  as  the  wine  is  drunk,  and  the  snn 
in  the  west,  let  us  be  off  to  see  this  famous  old 
bit  of  aboriculture,  —  the  Dragon  Tree  of  Caora. 
Ah  !  that  brig  has  got  her  anchor  apeak  at  last ; 
the  port- tacks  are  close  aboard,  and  the  jib  hoisted, 
and  —  by  George  !  if  her  stupid  fiddle-head  is 
long  in  paying  off  she'll  be  foul  of  that  polacea ! 
But  here  comes  the  senor  de  casa." 

We  asked  the  landlord,  who  entered  at  that 
moment,  where  the  famous  tree  stood  ;  on  which 
he  politely  offered  to  accompany  us  ;  and  certainly 
our  visit  was  not  time  wasted. 

In  the  garden  of  a  Senor  Franqui  (whose  father 
showed  it  to  Humboldt),  we  saw  this  gigantic 
specimen  of  the  many-headed  palm,  the  aged 
Dragon  Tree  of  Caora. 

Its  stem  is  forty-eight  feet  in  diameter,  and  as- 
cends like  a  solid  pillar  to  the  height  of  sixty  feet, 
from  whence  an  incredible  number  of  strangely 
twisted  and  fantastic  branches  shoot  off  in  every 
direction,  but  all  bearing  flowers  and  fruit. 

"  This,  senores,"  said  the  hostalero,  "  is  said  b)' 
a  learned  traveller " 

"  Aye,"  interrupted  Ilislop ;  "  you  mean  Hum- 
boldt." 

"  Si,  senor,  —  to  be  the  oldest  tree  in  the  world. 
Documents  exist  in  the  town  of  Santa  Cruz  which 
prove  that  in  the  fifteenth  century  —  that  is,  when 


394  DICK   RODNEY. 

the  Spaniards  first  came  here  under  Don  Al- 
phonso,  Ferdinand  of  Lugo,  and  others  —  it  was 
just  the  size  we  see  it  now,  and  not  a  twig  more 
or  less. 

"  This  is  very  likely,  Dick,"  said  Hislop,  in  Eng- 
lish, turning  to  me  ;  "  but  for  all  that,  it  is  not  the 
oldest  tree  in  the  world.  Europe  and  Asia  are 
full  of  trees  with  doubtful  or  fabulous  ages  ;  but 
M.  de  Candolle,  of  Geneva,  asserts  that  the  most 
ancient  tree  in  the  world  —  one  which  was  in  full 
bloom  when  our  Saviour  was  born  —  is  the  old 
yew  of  Fortingall,  at  the  mouth  of  Glenlyon,  in 
Scotland.  Well,  senor,"  he  resumed,  in  Spanish, 
"  and  this  palm?  " 

"  Alphonso  de  Lugo  struck  it  thrice  with  his 
sword,  in  token  that  Teneriffe  and  all  the  adjacent 
isles  belonged  to  Ferdinand  and  Isabella,  to  Cas- 
tile, and  to  the  Catholic  Church." 

"  What  wonders,  and  how  many  changes  has 
the  world  seen  since  then  I  And  this  old  tree  is 
in  bloom  and  bearing  yet!"  I  exclaimed. 

"  I  think,"  added  Hislop,  as  we  turned  to  leave 
the  garden  of  Senor  Franqui,  "  that  Humboldt 
says  this  species  is  very  slow  in  growth  ;  and  that 
the  Dragon  Tree  requked  a  thousand  years  to 
attain  its  present  maturity." 

"  A  thousand  years  !  "  I  repeated,  looking  at  it 
with  that  vague  emotion  of  interest  which  is  gen- 
erally excited  by  the  knowledge  that  we  are  look- 
ing on  what  we,  in  all  probability,  shall  never 
see  again. 


THE  OLD  DRAGON-TREE  OF  CAORA.     395 

It  vas  near  evening  when  we  returned  to  the 
posada  ;  and  after  giving  a  "  consideration  "  to  the 
hostalero,  \Aho  was  a  very  pleasant  and  intelli 
gent  Spanish  colonist  from  the  old  city  of  laen, 
in  Andalusia,  we  mounted  to  return  ;  on  which 
he  said,  — 

"  Senores  Inglesos,  you  should  not  leave  Ten- 
erifFe  without  visiting  the  Valley  of  the  Dia- 
mond." 

"  We  had  some  thoughts  of  doing  so,"  said  His- 
lop  ;  "  but  is  it  far  from  this  ?  " 
"  About  a  league  and  half." 
"  Where  away  ?  " 

"  Among  the  mountains,  on  the  northern  slope 
of  the  great  peak." 

"  Ugh !  the  scenery  looks  rather  wild  there- 
about," replied  Hislop ;  "  but  'twere  a  pity  to 
leave  vv^ithout  having  a  look  at  it,  after  all." 

"  You  may  remember.  Marc,"  said  I,  "  that  this 
diamond  is  particularly  mentioned  in  the  old  vol- 
ume of  voyages  which  I  found  in  the  water-logged 
brig  at  Alphonso." 

"  Yes,  to  be  sure  I  do,"  replied  Hislop  ;  "  and 
that  book,  I  think,  must  form  part  of  La  Collec- 
cion  de  Viages  y  Discubrimientos.  The  diamond 
was  first  seen  by  Albuquerque  and  Tristan  da 
Cunha,  senor  hostalero.  I  believe  that  it  shines 
only  in  the  night,"  said  Marc,  turning  to  the  land- 
lord. 

"  But  then  it  beams  like  a  star  in  heaven,  sen- 
ores,"  replied  the  Spaniard,  crossing  himself. 


396  DICK   RODNEY. 

"  You  have  seen  it  f  ben  ?  "  I  asked. 

"  Oh  I  senor,  a  hundred  times  and  more." 

"  Is  it  supposed  to  be  worth  much?  " 

"  From  its  light  and  size,  many  millions  of 
duros." 

"  And  yet  it  has  been  allowed  to  glitter  away 
there  for  more  than  three  hundred  and  fifty 
years  !  "  I  exclaimed,  with  increduUty. 

"  Because,  senor,  its  exact  locality  can  never 
be  discovered,  even  by  the  most  active  searchers." 

"Why?" 

"  On  their  approach  it  gradually  fades,  and 
finally  disappears." 

«  But  in  daylight  ?  " 

"  Not  a  trace  of  it  can  be  found  among  the 
rocks,  though  a  thousand  men  have  searched  for 
it  a  thousand  times,  till  their  fingers  were  worn 
and  their  hearts  grew  sick." 

"  Strange !  "  we  exclaimed. 

"  Many  an  illustrious  senor  who  has  been  cap- 
tain-general of  the  Canaries  for  his  Most  Catholic 
Majesty  has  offered  a  thousand  duros  for  its  dis- 
covery, and  many  a  dog  of  a  Jew  has  almost  lost 
his  senses  in  the  rocky  valley ;  others  have  nearly 
died  of  starvation  rather  than  quit  the  search ;  but 
it  always  seems  to  melt  away  on  being  approached 
or  as  day  dawns,  so  there  are  many  who  aver  that 
it  is  no  diamond  at  all." 

«  What  then  ?  " 

"  An  enchanted  light,"  replied  the  hostalero. 


THE   OLD    DRAGON-TREE    OF   CAORA.  397 

Hislop  seemed  to  ponder  for  a  moment ;  then 
a  bright  smile  spread  over  his  jovial  and  smiburnt 
face,  and  he  asked,  — 

"  Will  this  be  a  good  night  for  seeing  it,  think 
you,  senor  hostalero  ?  " 

"  The  innkeeper  turned  to  the  north-west,  where 
the  clouds  were  still  banking  up  in  heavy  masses. 

"  Si,  senor  ;  I  should  say  so." 

"  At  what  distance  is  this  diamond  visible,  and 
from  what  spot  ?  " 

The  Spaniard  now  gave  us  a  knowing  glance  ; 
his  keen  black  eyes  glittered,  and  he  laughed 
aloud. 

"  Par  todos  santos,  if  you,  senor,  have  any  de- 
sire for  getting  it,  you  may  find  it  easier  to  call 
down  one  of  the  blessed  stars  that  are  now  be- 
ginning to  twinkle  in  the  heavens  above  us." 

"  Never  mind  what  I  wish  ;  but  say,  where  is 
it  to  be  seen  ?  " 

"  If  you  ride  fast,  senores,  the  light  will  yet 
enable  you  to  reach  the  valley,"  replied  the  hos- 
talero, still  smiling,  —  almost  grinning,  in  fact. 

"  Pursue  the  way  from  this  to  the  eastward  for 
nearly  a  league,  passing  on  your  left  La  Mon- 
tanza  de  Centejo,  and  so  on,  till  you  reach  a  well 
shaded  by  three  old  rosewood  trees." 

"What  next?" 

"  Wheel  off  by  a  narrow  path  that  lies  to  the 
right,  and  pass  between  two  rocks  ;  you  wiU  then 
see  the  summit  of  the  great  peak  before  you  ;  and 

34 


398  DICK   RODNEY. 

after  proceeding  about  a  mile,  you  will  come  to 
a  flat  stone,  and  from  there  you  will  perceive  the 
diamond  (if  the  atmosphere  serves)  shining  like  a 
light  in  the  face  of  the  rock,  about  fifty  yards  or 
so  before  you." 

"  Muchos  gratios,  senor,"  said  Hislop  ;  "  these 
directions  seem  very  clear." 

"  I  am  glad  senor  is  pleased,"  replied  the  hos- 
talero,  removing  his  broad  straw  hat. 

"  Could  you  oblige  me  with  a  piece  of  hard 
chalk?" 

"  Hard  chalk,"  reiterated  the  hostalero  ;  "  cer- 
tainly, senor,"  and  in  a  second  he  brought  a  piece 
from  his  kitchen. 

Hislop  thanked  him,  placed  it  in  his  pocket, 
and  we  rode  off  just  as  the  clear  twilight  began 
to  deepen  with  the  most  magnificent  effects  of 
lingering  light  and  purple  shadow  on  land  and 
sea,  on  mountain,  isle,  and  shore. 

"  What  are  you  about  to  do  with  that  piece  of 
chalit  ?  "  asked  I ;  "  for  assuredly  there  is  some- 
thing veiled  under  the  request." 

"  You  shall  soon  learn,  —  that  is,  if  we  see  this 
real  or  enchanted  diamond,"  said  Hjslop,  laugh- 
ing. 

"  What  do  you  mean  ?  " 

"  That  I  shall  put  this  diamond,  if  such  indeed 
it  is,  into  my  old  mother's  lap,  when  I  go  home 
to  Scotland!"  said  he,  with  a  boisterous  laugh, 
in  which  I  could  not  resist  joining. 


THE  VALLEY  OF  THE  DIAMOND.      399 


CHAPTER  LII. 

THE  VALLEY  OF  THE  DIAMOND. 

We  rode  due  eastward  by  a  narrow  path  that 
traversed  mountains  of  rock,  covered  by  wild  lau- 
rels, rosewood  trees,  and  vines.  Far  away  on  our 
left,  wearing  the  deepest  indigo  tint,  spread  the 
ocean,  the  horizon  line  of  which  was  distinctly 
seen  against  a  sky  of  coppery  red  that  appeared 
beneath  the  bank  of  squally  clouds,  which  were 
fast  dispersing  now,  or  whirHng  upward  into  mid 
air  and  melting  away. 

In  a  valley  on  our  left  some  lights  were  seen  to 
ghtter  as  if  from  the  windows  of  houses. 

"  That  is  Montanza  de  Centejo,  no  doubt,"  said 
Hislop. 

In  a  few  mimites  more  we  saw  the  three  rose- 
wood trees,  and  then  the  wayside  well  beneath 
the  shadow  of  their  branches.  It  was  a  simple 
and  rude  arch  of  stone,  from  a  wooden  duct  in 
which  the  water  flowed  into  a  stone  basin. 

"  Here  is  the  fountain,"  said  I ;  "  and  now  oui 
path  to  the  right  —  " 

"  Lies  through  a  gap  in  these  rocks." 

"  An  ugly  place !  " 


400  DICK  RODNEY. 

"  Is  your  rifle  loaded,  Dick  ?  " 

"  Yes,  —  and  capped  too,"  said  I. 

Passing  through  a  gorge  in  the  piles  of  rock 
that  rose  on  our  right,  we  found  ourselves  in  a 
large  and  rugged  ravine,  through  which,  under 
masses  of  creepers,  there  brawled  a  rough  black 
mountain  torrent,  and  by  its  side  there  wound  a 
narrow  path. 

This  ravine  had  been  formed  by  that  convul- 
sion of  nature  which  took  place  during  the  visit 
of  Alphonso  de  Albuquerque  and  Tristan  de 
Cunha,  when  the  famous  diamond  was  said  to 
have  first  become  visible. 

The  stupendous  cone  of  the  great  Piton  rose 
before  us  at  the  end  of  the  ravine.  In  some 
places  the  latter  was  dark  as  blackest  night  could 
be,  while  the  former,  for  some  thousand  feet  of 
its  height,  below  even  the  region  of  laurels,  was 
bathed  in  a  pure  white  flood  of  silver  sheen,  for 
a  splendid  moon  had  now  arisen  from  the  sea. 

After  proceeding  with  our  horses  at  a  walk  for 
about  a  mile,  looking  carefully  for  the  next  land- 
mark mentioned  by  the  hostalero,  Hislop  drew 
up  and  dismounted,  saying,  — 

"  Here  it  is,  Dick." 

I  also  dismounted,  and  found  near  the  path- 
way a  stone  which  had  evidently  once  stood  up- 
right, but  now  it  lay  flat  among  the  long  grass 
and  wild  flowers  that  grew  there. 

Notwithstanding  the  gloom  which  yet  envel- 


THE  VALLEY  OF  THE  DIAMOND.      401 

oped  US  I  could  make  out  an  inscription,  partly 
by  feeling  with  my  fingers.  It  was  deeply  cut, 
and  ran  thus: 

"  Aqvi  mataron  a  Juan  Hererro.     1850." 

"  Here    they  slew  John    Smith,"  said  Hislop, 
choing,  or  rather,  freely  translating  the  legend. 

"  They,  —  who  were  they  ?  " 

"  Some  robbers,  no  doubt ;  perhaps,  Uke  us,  he 
came  in  search  of  the  great  diamond." 

"Then  is  he  buried  here,  think  you?"  asked 
I,  instinctively  stepping  back  from  the  stone. 

"  I  cannot  say.  It  is  lively  this,  and  not  a  bit 
of  moonshine  here  yet !  " 

Eagerly  and  anxiously  we  gazed  about  us,  but 
saw  not  a  ray  of  light  in  the  dark  valley  or  ra- 
vine; and  though  neither  of  us  said  so  at  the 
time,  we  were  not  without  vague  suspicions  of 
having  been  fooled,  or,  it  might  be,  lured  into 
some  awkward  trap  ;  for  our  ideas  of  the  Spanish 
character  had  by  no  means  improved  upon  ac- 
quaintance. 

"  Do  you  see  the  diamond  yet,  Dick  ?  "  asked 
my  friend  for  the  third  time. 

"  Not  I.  Are  you  sure  that  we  are  on  the  spot 
from  which  it  is  visible." 

"  Here^  by  this  flat  stone,  we  were  to  stand. 
Try  a  little  more  to  your  right." 

"  I  see  nothing  yet." 

There  was  a  pause,  during  which  we  walked 
about,  peering  into  the  obscm'ity. 

34* 


402  DICK   KODNEY. 

"  Stay,  —  I  see  something ! "  I  exclaimed,  in  an 
excited  tone.  "  Come  this  way  —  a  yard  or  so 
—  it  shines  now  !  "  I  added,  when,  after  stepping 
a  pace  or  two  to  the  left,  a  faint  gleam,  like  the 
first  ray  of  a  small  and  very  distant  revolving  . 
beacon  —  a  tiny  one  indeed  —  stole  upon  the 
gloom ;  and  then  a  steady  sparkle,  like  that  of  a 
star,  shone  through  the  pitchy  blackness  that  en- 
veloped the  whole  length  and  breadth  of  the 
hollow. 

The  hostalero  of  Orotava  had  not  deceived  us, 
for  the  diamond  was  now  before  us,  shining 
visibly. 

Like  a  star,  it  seemed  to  shrink  and  tremble 
while  we  gazed  at  it,  which  Hislop  did,  long  and 
steadily. 

"  Well,  Dick  Rodney,"  said  he,  "  you  have  first 
seen  the  diamond,  and  shall  have  the  largest 
share,  if  we  get  it." 

I  laughed  at  this,  and  asked,  — 
"  How  does  it  shine  thus  in  the  dark  ?  " 
"  Because  the  diamond  is  a  gem  possessing  a 
greater  refractive  power  than  any  other  precious 
stone,  and  reflects  every  atom  of  light  which  falls 
upon  it  at  an  angle  of  incidence  greater  than 
twenty-four  and  a  half  degrees,  even  before  being 
cut.  I  remember  that  Benvenuto  Cellini,  in  his 
History  of  Jewelry,  mentions  a  magnificently  col- 
ored carbuncle,  which  was  found  in  a  vineyard 
near  Rome  simply  by  its  shining  in  the  night. 


THE  VALLEY  OF  THE  DIAMOND.      403 

Stand  steadily  where  you  are,  Dick,  and  don't 
lose  sight  of  it,  while  I  advance  up  the  ravine." 

He  did  so  thrice,  and  each  time  found  that  on 
proceeding  about  twenty  yards,  it  faded  away 
altogether. 

"  It  is  very  probably  a  mere  rock  crystal," 
said  I. 

"  No  rock  crystal  ever  shone  with  a  brilliance 
like  that!"  replied  Hislop,  vehemently;  "but 
whether  it  is  a  diamond  of  the  purest  water  or  a 
will-o'-the-wisp  —  a  spunkie,  as  we  call  it  in  Scot- 
land —  I'll  give  it  a  touch  with  a  short  Enfield, 
point-blank." 

Hislop's  rifle  was  already  capped  and  loaded, 
but  with  his  knife  he  shaped  an  oblong  bullet  of 
the  hard  white  chalk  which  he  had  procured  at 
Orotava,  and  carefully  rammed  it  down  the  bar- 
rel. 

Having  some  matches  about  him,  he  touched 
the  knob  of  the  foresight  and  the  notch  of  the  back- 
sight with  phosphorus,  and  thus  bringing  the  two 
lights  in  a  line  with  the  diamond,  he  took  a  long 
and  steady  aim  from  his  left  knee,  and  Jlred! 

The  dark  valley  and  the  steep  mountains  rang 
with  a  thousand  reverberations,  as  they  seemed 
to  toss  the  sharp  report  from  echoing  rock  to 
rock,  until  it  died  away  in  mid-air ;  but  still  the 
diamond  shone  as  brightly  as  ever,  and  our 
horses  plunged  so  wildly  tliat  they  nearly  broke 
away  from  us. 


04  DICK   KODNET. 

"  K  my  aim  is  true,  and  the  chalk  bullet  has 
struck  the  rock,  it  will  indicate  the  bearings  of 
the  diamond,  and  we  may  unship  it  somehow  in 
the  morning,"  said  the  practical  Scotchman,  as 
he  quietly  reloaded. 

"  Morning  ?     Must  we  wait  here  till  then  ?  " 

"  Well,  Dick,  it  is  worth  waiting  for ;  and  after 
all  we  have  gone  through  since  that  day  when 
we  picked  you  up  adrift  in  the  chops  of  the 
Channel,  we  may  sleep  here  pleasantly  enough 
in  one  of  the  thickets." 

After  lingering  a  little  time  and  observing  the 
strange  sparkle,  the  actual  origin  of  which  we 
could  scarcely  realize,  we  found  a  thick  grove  of 
laurels ;  and  securing  our  horses  to  two  branches 
by  the  bridles,  we  unstrapped  from  each  the  large 
coarse  horse-cloth,  which  is  frequently  folded  and 
placed  under  the  saddle  by  riders  in  Spain  and 
its  colonies,  and  in  these  rugs  we  wrapped  our- 
selves for  warmth  and  protection  from  the  dew 
and  mosquitoes. 

There  we  lay,  each  with  a  loaded  rifle  by  his 
side,  and  his  horse  picketed  near.  Sailor-like, 
Hislop  went  off  to  sleep  at  once,  as  sound  as  a 
timber-head ;  but  for  hours  I  found  it  impossible 
to  follow  so  pleasant  an  example,  and  lay  watch- 
ing the  light  of  the  moon,  which,  as  she  roso 
higher  in  the  sky,  descended  the  vast  side  of  the 
Peak  of  Teneriffe,  and  at  last  filled  the  volcanic 
ravine  with  a  flood  of  liquid  silver. 

The  loveliness  of  the  night,  the  solemnity  of 


THE  VALLEY  OF  THE  DIAMOND.      405 

the  scenery,  the  lonely  position  in  which  I  found 
myself,  and  the  strange  errand  on  which  we  had 
come,  all  conduced  to  fill  me  with  contemplation 
and  many  thoughts  that  banished  slumber. 

In  all  the  vast  expanse  of  heaven,  into  which 
that  wondrous  peak  ascended  to  the  height  of 
more  than  twelve  thousand  feet,  no  cloud  was 
visible ;  but  there  were  millions  upon  millions 
of  stars,  rivalling  and  almost  eclipsing  the  splen- 
dor of  the  moon. 

The  silver  light  was  poured  aslant  into  the  val- 
ley through  every  rent  and  fissure  in  the  crags, 
causing  masses  of  shadow  between  them ;  while 
the  wild  vines  and  the  cocoa-nut  trees  were  cov- 
ered with  prismatic  gems  as  the  dew  gathered  on 
their  pendant  leaves  and  fruit.  So  splendid  was 
the  moonshine,  and  so  mild  was  the  atmosphere, 
that  the  wild  canaries,  like  golden  birds  in  some 
fairy  valley,  were  twittering  about  us  as  if  day 
had  broken. 

At  last  I  grew  weary  and  slept. 

With  the  first  peep  of  day  Hi  slop  roused  me. 
It  was  well  to  be  up  and  doing  before  others,  who 
might  observe  us,  came  out  of  the  ravine,  though 
it  had  aU  the  aspect  of  a  lonely  and  unfrequented 
place.  About  two  miles  of  the  mountain  peak 
were  gilded  by  the  yet  (to  us)  unrisen  sun ;  but 
in  the  valley  there  was  only  twilight  when  we 
folded  our  rugs,  saddled  our  horses,  and  proceed- 
ing to  the  stone  which  bore  the  name  of  Juan 
Hercrro,  went  from  thence  in  a  straight  line  to- 


406  DICK   RODNEY. 

ward  the  rocky  cliff,  which  closed  in  the  end  of  the 
hollow,  at  the  distance  of  somewhat  more  than 
fifty  paces. 

We  reached  a  sloping  bluff  of  rugged  basalt, 
faced  by  strange  lava-like  columnar  masses  that 
might  easily  be  dislodged  by  a  crowbar,  and  all 
were  spotted  by  luxuriant  lichens,  which  in  the 
wet  season  would  ripen  into  velvety  moss,  while 
long  green  trailers,  covered  with  gorgeous  wild- 
flowers  grew  in  every  cleft  and  chasm. 

This  rocky  bluff  was  about  sixty  feet  in  height, 
and,  by  the  increasing  light,  Hislop  scanned  it 
with  a  keen  nautical  eye,  that  had  been  accus- 
tomed to  detect  sight  and  signs  in  every  state  of 
the  atmosphere  and  elements. 

In  a  minute  or  less  an  exclamation  of  satisfac- 
tion escaped  him,  and  pointing  upward, — 
"  Dick,",  he  added,  "  do  you  see  that  ?  " 
I  looked  in  the  direction  indicated,  and  saw  a 
small  white  star  formed  by  the  chalk  bullet  upon 
the  face  of  the  rock. 

"I  do,"  said  I;  «Ido!" 

"  There  or  thereabout  must  be  this  diamond, 
which  is  never  visible  by  day." 

"But  we  have  neither  hammer,  chisel,  nor 
crowbar,"  said  I ;  "  and  our  fingers,  I  fear,  wont 
avail  us  much." 

Hislop  threw  the  bridle  of  his  horse  over  a 
laurel-bush ;  I  did  the*  same ;  and  in  a  few  min- 
utes we  had  chmbed  to  the  spot  indicated  by  the 
chalk  mark  ;  and  there  also  we  found  the  conical 


THE  VALLEY  OF  THE  DIAMOND.      407 

bullet  of  his  Enfield  rifle,  flattened  out  like  a 
florin,  and  adhering  to  the  face  of  the  rock. 

For  nearly  twenty  minutes  we  examined  all  the 
locality  of  these  marks,  and  at  last  I  discovered 
something  that  appeared  to  be  a  dull  gray  piece 
of  rock  crystal,  half  sunk  and  half  projecting  from 
the  face  of  the  basalt,  and  led  Hislop  to  it. 

Uttering  an  exclamation  of  joy,  he  declared 
that,  beyond  a  doubt,  it  was  the  diamond! 

We  were  almost  breathless  at  this  sudden  dis- 
covery, and  looked  about  us  on  every  hand,  hke 
the  perpetrators  of  a  robbery,  lest  we  might  be 
observed ;  but,  except  our  horses  cropping  the 
grass,  and  the  golden  canary  birds  that  sang  on 
every  twig  and  tree,  there  appeared  no  living 
thing  on  the  mountain  above  or  in  the  ravine 
beneath  us. 

But  how  were  we  to  extract  our  treasure,  if  a 
treasure  indeed  it  was  ? 

Vainly  we  used  our  knives,  till  the  blades  bent 
and  broke ;  vainly  we  punched  it  with  the  butts 
and  ramrods  of  our  rifles.  It  remained  solid, 
hard,  fast,  and  immovable. 

Hislop's  aim  had  been  a  true  one,  under  the 
circumstances,  for  the  crystal  was  situated  just 
three  inches  from  his  shot-mark. 

At  last  he,  being  fertile  in  resources,  on  finding 
a  sloping  rent  in  the  rock,  about  eight  inches 
above  the  object  of  our  solicitude  bethought  him 
of  blowing  it  out  by  gunpowder. 

All  our  cartridges,  about  thirty  in  number,  were 


408  DICK   RODNEY. 

at  once  opened,  and  their  contents  rammed  hard 
or  pounded  in,  with  a  piece  of  stick  and  a  stone 
in  lieu  of  a  mallet.  The  rent  was  small,  and 
seemed  about  a  foot  deep.  This  impromptu 
mining  was  a  laborious  affair,  for  it  required  to 
be  carefully  done,  and  occupied  more  than  two 
hours,  as  we  had  to  plug  up  the  aperture  tightly, 
leaving  only  a  very  small  touchhole. 

When  all  was  complete,  some  cigar  fusees  and 
wetted  powder  were  prepared  together  as  a  slow- 
match  ;  they  were  inserted  and  a  light  applied. 

"  Sheer  oif,  Dick,  —  give  it  a  wide  berth  I  "  cried 
Hislop. 

The  fusee  smoked  as  it  consumed,  but  slowly, 
and  breathlessly  we  looked  on,  at  ten  yards'  dis- 
tance. 

It  seemed  to  die  out,  for  the  smoking  ceased, 
and  the  last  puff,  after  curling  among  the  green 
trailers  passed  away. 

Hislop  was  about  to  ascend  and  to  examme 
the  powder,  when  there  was  a  loud  and  sharp  ex- 
plosion ;  a  little  cloud  of  dust  rose,  and  disen- 
gaged from  the  cliff  some  fragments  of  rock,  six 
in  number,  about  the  size  of  half  bricks,  fell  on 
the  bank  below. 

Uttering  a  shout,  we  rushed  down,  and  in  a 
moment  Hislop  found  the  diamond  adhering  to 
a  piece  of  stone  larger  than  itself! 

Some  time  elapsed  before  we  could  fully  real- 
ize our  good  fortune  or  believe  in  the  wealth  we 
had  so  suddenly  acquired. 


THE  VALLEY  OF  THE  DIAMOND.      409 

It  seemed  like  a  mere  lump  of  rock  crystal,  but 
larger  than  a  goose-egg,  and  not  unlike  the  Koh- 
i-Noor  —  the  fabled  Ligat  of  the  World  —  that 
mysterious  palladium  of  the  destinies  of  India, 
before  it  was  cut,  polished,  and  in  some  degree 
mutilated,  that  it  might  figure  in  the  Exhibition 
of  1851  —  as  ours  may  do,  perhaps,  in  that  of 
1871. 

Time  will  show. 

If  a  pure  diamond,  this  stone  was  worth  nearly 
seventy  thousand  pounds  ! 

"  Let  us  keep  our  own  counsel,  Dick,  about 
this,  till  we  find  ourselves  in  London,"  said  His- 
lop,  as  he  consigned  it  to  his  breast-pocket,  to- 
gether with  the  piece  of  stone  which  adhered  to 
it ;  "  and  now  we  must  make  a  good  offing  while 
aU  is  quiet  here." 

In  a  minute  more,  and  just  as  a  group  of  horse- 
men —  farmers  and  sugar-millers  —  entered  the 
valley,  we  had  mounted,  and  were  galloping  to- 
ward Santa  Cruz  as  fast  as  our  horses'  heels  could 
carry  us.  * 

*  By  a  note  from  Hislop,  he  informs  me  that  the  idea  of  mark- 
ing with  a  challi  bullet  the  locality  of  the  diamond  was  given  him 
by  an  old  Scottish  legend  which  he  heard,  of  a  precious  stone,  of 
great  size,  that  shone,  but  by  night  onhj,  amid  the  rocks  on  the 
beautiful  hill  of  Kinnoul.  There  it  had  long  tantalized  the  citi- 
zens of  Perth,  till  an  ingenious  fellow  fired  a  ball  of  camstone  at 
it,  and  by  thus  marking  the  place  })icked  the  gem  out  at  his  lei- 
sure. 

35 


410  DICK   RODNEY. 


CHAPTER  LIIL 

THE  LAST  OF  ANTONIO  EL  CUBAN  0. 

As  we  entered  Santa  Cruz  we  found  a  great 
crowd  of  colonists,  citizens,  mulattoes,  Creoles, 
and  negroes,  all  in  motley  and  gaudily-striped 
linen  jackets  and  trousers,  assembled  in  the  Plaza, 
where  a  guard  of  Spanish  infantry,  with  muskets 
shouldered  and  bayonets  fixed,  kept  back  the 
people  in  the  form  of  a  hollow  square,  about  a 
raised  wooden  platform,  which  was  covered  with 
black  cloth,  and  whereon  was  placed  the  ga- 
rotte. 

"  What  is  all  this  about  ?  "  we  asked. 

"  It  is  for  the  execution  of  Antonio,  a  Cuban 
pirate,  who  is  to  die  by  the  garotte,'''  replied  a  sol- 
dier. 

This  instrument  of  the  law  w^as  simply  an  up- 
right wooden  post  rising  from  the  platform.  At 
its  base  was  a  low  stool,  on  which  the  condemned 
are  seated  ;  and  about  three  feet  above  that  ap- 
pears an  iron  ring  with  a  handle  and  screw,  by 
the  compression  of  which  they  are  strangled,  in- 
stantly or  slowly,  according  to  sentence. 

The  crowd  was  very  impatient ;  the  hour  at 


THE  LAST   OF  ANTONIO   EL  CUBANO.         4H 

which  the  grim  scene  was  to  have  taken  place 
was  now  long  past.  Loud  murmurs  rose  from 
the  people,  who  had  heard  most  exaggerated  sto- 
ries of  Antonio's  stature,  strength,  and  ferocity, 
and  glances  of  anger  and  impatience  were  darted 
at  the  gilt  dial  of  the  town-house,  on  which  a 
black  banner  was  hoisted  but  half-mast  high. 

We  recognized  nearly  all  the  crew  of  the  San 
lldefonso  in  front  of  the  mob  ;  and  there,  too, 
were  a  number  of  British  sailors  of  H.  M.'s  steam 
sloop-of-war  Active,  which  had  anchored  in  the 
harbor  that  morning. 

Several  priests  in  long  gray  robes  were  hurry- 
ing to  and  fro,  begging  a  "  peseta "  to  pay  for 
masses  for  the  soul  of  the  condemned  man. 

As  neither  Hislop  nor  I  had  any  desire  to  wit- 
ness a  scene  so  barbarous  and  revolting  as  an  ex- 
ecution, we  hastened  to  our  posada  to  breakfast, 
where  we  were  joined  by  Captain  Jos^  Estre- 
mera,  who  had  just  come  from  the  Castle  of  Santa 
Cruz,  where  the  culprit  was  confined,  and  where 
a  most  extraordinary  scene  had  taken  place. 

The  little  Spanish  skipper  was  quite  excited ; 
his  black  eyes  were  round  as  saucers ;  his  olive 
cheek  was  flushed  crimson ;  and  he  spoke  so  fast 
and  said  so  much  that  he  nearly  choked  himself 
over  his  eggs  and  scalding-hot  coffee. 

His  narrative  was  as  foUows,  and  it  presented 
a  singular  instance  of  mad  ferocity,  of  cowardice, 
and  despair. 


412  DICK   RODNEY. 

In  the  morning,  probably  about  the  same  time 
that  Hislop  and  I  were  busy  with  our  diamond, 
the  bastonero,  or  turnkey,  of  the  Castle  of  Santa 
Cruz,  which  is  at  once  a  prison,  a  barrack,  and 
fortress,  opened  the  door  of  Antonio's  cell  to 
announce  to  him,  in  the  usual  form,  that  Senor 
the  Judge  of  the  First  Instance,  accompanied  by 
an  Escribano  of  the  Court,  had  arrived  to  read 
over  his  sentence  again,  and  to  convey  him  to  the 
Chapel  of  the  Doomed,  where  Fra  Anselmo 
would  confer  and  pray  with  him  prior  to  his  exe- 
cution. 

On  entering,  the  bastonero  found  Antonio 
whistling  cheerfully,  and  deliberately  using  a  sharp 
file,  which  he  had  procured  no  one  knew  how, 
but  with  the  aid  of  which,  he  had  releaesed  one  of 
his  ankles  froui  the  fetterlocks,  by  which  his  feet 
had  been  secured  to  a  ponderous  iron  bar  that 
traversed  his  cell.  But  though  still  held  fast  by 
one  leg,  he  flung  himself  bodily,  like  a  wild  ani- 
mal, on  the  unsuspecting  bastonero,  tore  the 
heavy  keys  from  his  leather  girdle,  and  after  deal- 
ing him  a  deadly  blow  on  the  head,  dashed  him, 
bleeding  and  senseless,  against  the  wall  outside 
the  cell  door. 

He  then  closed  the  latter,  locked  it  on  the  in- 
side, and  resumed  the  use  of  the  file,  which  was 
heard  rasping  on  the  steel,  while  he  sang  his  fa- 
vorite "  Companero,  companero,"  &c. 

Aware   that    the  crowd  were  waiting  in  the 


THE   LAST   OF   ANTONIO   EL   CUBANO.         413 

Plaza,  and  that  Spanish  crowds  were  not  to  be 
trifled  with,  in  vain  did  the  commandant  of  the 
Castle  of  Santa  Cruz,  the  judge,  the  escribano, 
and  Fra  Anselmo  entreat  Antonio  to  cease  his 
fruitless  resistance,  as  his  fate  was  sealed  now 
beyond  the  reach  of  pardon  even  from  the  cap- 
tain-general. 

Resolved  to  die  as  he  had  lived,  like  a  tiger, 
Antonio  fiercely  refused. 

The  priest  next  implored  him  to  pass  the  keys 
through  the  iron  grating  in  the  cell  door. 

He  uttered  a  shout  of  laughter. 

The  armorer  of  the  castle  was  now  summoned 
to  force  the  lock ;  but  the  mechanism  of  it  re- 
sisted all  his  strength  and  skill.  Senor  the  com- 
mandant was  furious ! 

The  pioneers  of  the  garrison  were  next  ordered 
in  with  their  iron  crowbars  and  sledge-hammers 
to  beat  down  the  door. 

It  was  small  but  enormously  thick,  being  built 
of  bars  of  oak  and  iron  bolted  together,  and  curi- 
ously inserted  in  a  groove  formed  in  the  massive 
wall  of  the  old  castle. 

For  an  hour  they  toiled  at  it,  and  in  the  inter- 
vals of  their  labor  the  sound  of  Antonio's  file 
was  heard  at  work,  together  with  his  maledic- 
tions, his  songs,  and  fierce  derisive  laughter. 

"  Ho  I  ho  I  my  fine  fejlow,"  said  the  Command- 
ant, rattling  his  sabre,  "  we  shall  soon  see  the  end 
of  this  fine  game !  " 

35* 


414  DICK  RODNEY. 

At  last  the  door  fell  in  fragments,  but  unfortu- 
nately one  strong  iron  bar  still  remained  across 
the  aperture  ;  the  daylight  streamed  into  the  vault, 
and  now,  like  a  baited  wild  beast,  Antonio,  who 
was  still  fettered  to  the  iron  bar,  dragged  himself 
toward  the  doorway,  armed  with  the  large  key, 
which  was  about  a  foot  long. 

When  another  bastonero  attempted  to  enter 
by  stooping,  a  blow  from  the  key  fell  like  a  thun- 
derbolt upon  his  defenceless  head,  and  he  was 
dragged  out  by  the  heels,  apparently  in  a  dying 
state. 

Several  others  who  ventured  in  met  with  the 
same  fate  ;  the  whole  place  became  splashed 
with  blood  ;  the  consternation  increased,  and  the 
authorities  were  at  their  wits'  end,  for  the  door- 
way was  so  small  that  one  person  alone  could  en- 
ter at  a  time,  and  then  only  when  stooping  low, 
—  a  position  which  placed  them  completely  at 
the  mercy  of  Antonio. 

For  another  hour  did  that  frenzied  ruffian  keep 
all  at  bay,  replying  to  the  threats  of  the    Com- 
mandant, the  entreaties  of  Fra  Anselmo,  and  th 
suave  legal  rhetoric  of  the  Judge  of  the  First  In- 
stance with  laughter  and  derision. 

Tired  at  last  of  wielding  his  large  key,  or  find- 
ing that  none  would  come  within  reach  of  it,  he 
flung  it  at  the  group  outside,  and  broke  the 
nether  jaw  of  the  escribano,  who  left  the  field  of 
battle  with  great  precipitation. 


THE  LAST  OF  ANTONIO  EL  CUBANO.    415 

The  commandant  now  summoned  a  party  of 
soldiers,  and  twelve  men  of  the  castle  guard 
came,  under  the  orders  of  the  lieutenant,  Don 
Luiz  Pineda,  who  at  once  ordered  them  to  load 
with  ball-cartridge. 

On  seeing  these  dire  preparations,  which  he 
could  no  longer  withstand,  Antonio  ceased  in  his 
untimely  ribaldry.  Great  drops  of  perspiration 
poured  over  his  low  but  narrow  temples.  His 
dark  brow  was  furrowed  deeper,  as  if  by  baffled 
rage  and  futile  ferocity ;  his  black  eyes  glistened 
with  a  fearful  glare,  and  his  vast  bulky  form 
seemed  to  dilate  in  muscular  strength  and  size ; 
the  blue  paUor  of  death  passed  over  his  thin  and 
cruel  lips,  but  still  they  were  writhed  by  a  mock- 
ing smile. 

"  Senor  Don  Luiz,"  said  Fra  Anselmo,  "  I  en- 
treat you  not  to  have  him  shot  dead " 

"  What  then,  Senor  Padre  ?  " 

"  But  merely  wounded,  that  he  may  have  time 
for  repentance." 

"  Buena,  —  then  wounded  he  shall  be." 

At  that  moment  Antonio  struck  the  young 
lieutenant  on  the  face,  by  hm-hng  the  file  at  him, 
and  inflicted  a  severe  wound. 

"  Fire ! "  cried  Pineda,  mad  with  rage. 

A  musket  was  leveUed  and  fired ;  and  while 
the  vaults  of  the  castle  rang  with  a  hundred 
echoes  the  loud  laugh  of  Antonio  was  heard.  He 
had  cravded  along  the  iron  bar  into  a  dark  cor- 


416  DICK  RODKEY. 

ner  of  his  prison,  where,  coiled  up  at  the  extreme 
length  of  his  chain,  he  .scaped  the  bullet,  which 
was  flattened  on  the  masonry. 

Again  and  again  th  3  soldiers  fired  in  succes- 
sion, but  missed  him,  and  the  vault  became  full 
of  smoke. 

"  Basta ! "  said  they  ;  "  what  is  the  use  of  wast- 
ing powder  on  a  picaroon  who  is  bullet-proof?  " 

Pineda  now  took  a  musket,  and  aiming  very 
deliberately,  fired.  Then  Antonio's  chain  was 
heard  to  rattle  as  he  sprang  from  the  iron  bar 
with  a  wild  bound,  for  the  ball  had  broken  his 
right  thigh-bone. 

Now  he  howled,  bellowed,  and  literally  foamed 
at  the  mouth,  as  he  rolled  about  on  the  floor,  en- 
cumbered by  his  iron  chain,  his  broken  leg,  and 
fettered  foot.  Two  other  shots  were  fired ;  by 
one  an  arm  was  broken,  and  by  the  other  a  col- 
lar-bone. On  this  he  lay  still,  and  called  out  in 
a  husky  voice,  — 

"  Senores,  I  surrender  —  have  mercy !  " 

Then  the  pioneers  rushed  in  and  dragged  him 
out.  But  the  spirit  of  the  fiend  was  yet  strong 
within  him,  for  as  he  was  borne  past  Don  Luiz, 
bleeding  from  three  Vvounds,  he  clenched  the 
hand  which  yet  retained  power,  and  struck  him 
a  violent  blow. 

On  that  instant  the  sword  of  the  fiery  young 
lieutenant  would  have  Deen  passed  through  his 
heart,  had  not  Fra  Anselmo  arrested  the  blade 
by  grasping  it. 


THE  LAST   OF   ANTONIO   EL   CUBANO.  417 

Just  as  Jos^  Estremera  had  reached  this  point 
in  his  narrative  oi  the  morning's  proceedings,  we 
heard  a  tremendous  hubbub,  and  on  hurrying  to 
the  front  windows  of  the  posada,  saw  a  vast 
crowd  running  after  a  low  hurdle  that  was  drawn 
by  two  mules  past  the  end  of  the  street  which 
led  straight  toward  the  great  Plaza. 

It  bore  the  miserable  and  half-dead  form  of 
Antonio  el  Cubano  to  the  final  scene  of  his  crimes 
and  recent  sufferings,  —  the  garotte. 

So  perished  this  sinner ! 


418  DICK   KODNEY 


CHAPTER  LIV. 

CONCLUSION. 

I  HAVE  but  little  more  to  add,  for  with  this  last 
episode  the  course  of  wild  adventures  upon  which 
I  had  been  so  strangely  hurried,  nearly  closes. 

A  few  hours  after  the  death  of  Antonio,  when 
Hislop  and  I,  with  Lambourne,  Carlton,  and 
other  survivors  of  the  Eugenie  were  waiting  in 
the  office  of  the  British  Consul  to  make  some 
arrangements  for  rewarding  Jose  Estremera  for 
his  great  kindness  to  us  all,  we  met  Captain  the 

Hon.  Egerton  B ,  of  H.  M.  ship  Active,  who 

was  so  sti'uck  with  our  story  that  he  offered  us 
all  a  passage  to  England,  an  offer  which  we  ac- 
cepted with  gratitude. 

His  ship  was  leaving  the  African  squadi'on,  and 
returning  home  to  be  repaned. 

"Rodney — Rodney,"  said  he,  ponderin^ly,  when 
the  Consul  inti-oduced  me ;  "  you  ought  to  have 
been  a  saUor,  for  your  name  is  well  known  in  the 
service ; "  and  his  words  brought  the  memory  of 
my  poor  mother's  ambition  back  to  me,  and  I 
thought  of  the  old  picture  which  hung  in  the  din- 
ing-room at  home. 


CONCLUSION.  419 

After  a  brief  conference  with  his  shipmates 
Tattooed  Tom  now  came  forward,  and  twirling 
his  fragment  of  a  hat,  said  that  "  if  the  noble  cap- 
tain had  no  objection,  as  he,  Ned  Carlton,  Pro- 
bart,  and  the  other  poor  fellows  of  the  Eugenie 
were  out  of  a  berth,  and  at  uncommon  low  w^ater, 
they  would  gladly  ship  aboard  the  Active^  and 
enter  her  Majesty's  service." 

Captain  B ,  who  saw  at  a  glance  that  they 

were  all  fijst-class  seamen,  readily  accepted  the 
offer,  and  promised  them  the  usual  bounty ;  on 
which  they  gave  three  loud  cheers  for  the  Queen, 
and  it  came  from  their  throats  not  the  less  heart- 
ily that  they  were  far  away  from  her  and  in  a  for- 
eign land,  aU  tattered  as  they  were,  with  scarcely 
a  shirt  to  their  backs. 

"  Heaven  bless  you,  my  lads,"  said  Hislop  ; 
"  this  is  the  best  thing  you  can  do;  and  believe 
me,  Captain  B ,  you  will  find  my  old  ship- 
mates neither  waisters  nor  green-hands,  but  thor- 
ough A.  B.'s." 

As  they  aU  loved  him,  another  cheer  for  His- 
lop followed,  and  while  the  captain  went  off  to 
the  Active  in  his  gig,  we  all  adjourned  to  a  po- 
sada  to  have  a  last  friendly  glass  together. 

Soon  after,  as  the  war  steamer  was  to  sail  that 
evening,  a  boat  under  a  midshipman  came  off  for 
us,  and  then  we  bade  farewell  to  Jos^  Estremera, 
to  his  mate,  Manuel  Gautier,  to  Fra  Anselmo, 
a.nd  the  old  Governor  of  Surabaya. 


420  DICK  RODNEY. 

"  Come,  Dick  —  we  have  no  time  to  lose,"  said 
Hislop  ;  "  let  us  be  ofi  to  the  ship  while  daylight 
lasts ;  these  fellows  iii  TenerifFe  haven't  missed 
their  diamond  yet !  " 

I  shall  never  forget  my  emotions  of  joy  when 
the  boat  with  Hislop  and  the  rest  of  us  came  sheer- 
ing alongside  the  Active. 

She  was  so  clean,  so  trig,  so  square  aloft ;  with 
the  bright  copper  gleaming  in  the  water  below  ; 
her  black  bulwarks  and  red  portholes,  through 
which  her  sixty-eights  and  thirty-twos  peered 
above  the  brine ;  the  snow-white  hammock  cloths, 
with  the  gold  epaulets  of  the  lieutenant  of  the 
watch  glittering  above  them  ;  the  red-coated  ma- 
rines on  her  poop  and  forecastle ;  the  great  scar- 
let ensign  of  "  Old  England  "  floating  at  the  gaff- 
peak  :  —  and  that  no  part  of  the  illusion  might 
be  wanting,  a  little  marine  fifer,  playing  shrilly 
but  sweetly  "  Home,  sv/eet  home,"  in  one  of  the 
boats  that  lay  alongside  by  the  guess-warp 
boom. 

She  was  so  thoroughly  British  in  her  aspect,  so 
unlike  any  thing  we  had  seen  in  the  seas  we  had 
traversed,  that  we  felt  at  home  the  moment  our 
feet  were  on  her  deck  of  good  old  English  oak 
—  ay,  as  much  at  home  as  if  we  stood  upon  the 
chalky  South  Foreland,  and  saw  the  green  hop- 
fields  of  fertile  Kent  at  our  feet,  with  the  gray 
towers  of  Dover  and  the  white  spires  of  Deal  m 


CONCLUSION.  421 

the  distance.  Old  Lambourne  uttered  a  shout, 
and  pointed  to  the  Union  Jack. 

One  must  be  abroad  and  far  away  to  feel  to 
the  full  the  emotions  that  are  excited,  and  the 
confidence  which  is  inspired  on  seeing  the  old 
flag,  that  has  swept  every  sea  and  shore,  waving 
in  its  pride  from  the  gafF-peak  of  a  British  man- 
of-war  ! 

It  is  then  that  we  feel  "  what  a  sway  one  little 
island  has  exercised  over  this  mighty  earth." 

Hislop  and  I  dined  with  Captain  B ,  who 

was  anxious  to  hear  our  story  in  detail. 

Our  shipmates  were  told  off  to  their  several 
divisions,  and  we  were  placed  in  the  ward-room 
mess  for  the  remainder  of  the  voyage. 

We  sailed  that  night,  and  under  steam  a.nli 
canvas,  as  we  bore  away  to  the  north,  we  soon 
saw  the  Peak  of  Adam  sinldng  into  the  dark  blue 
sea. 

"  Adieu  to  the  Canaries,"  said  Hislop,  waving 
his  hat ;  "  the  next  shore  we  see  will  be  Europe, 
—  the  white  cliffs  of  Old  England,  perhaps." 

But  next  day  we  sighted  the  great  pitons  of 
the  Salvage  Islands,  a  group  of  uninhabited  rocks 
which  are  claimed  by  the  Portuguese  (perhaps 
because  no  one  else  cares  about  them),  and  which 
are  surrounded  by  dangerous  shoals.  One  of 
these  isles  closely  resembles  the  fantastic  rocks 
of  the  Needles,  at  the  west  end  of  the  Isle  of 
Wight. 

36 


422  DICK   RODNEY. 

On  the  Salvages  the  canary  birds  are  so  nu- 
merous, that  an  old  voyager  says,  "  it  is  impossi- 
ble to  walk  without  crushing  their  eggs." 

We  touched  at  Madeira,  and  after  a  delightful 
voyage  of  about  sixteen  days,  ran  up  the  Chan- 
nel, and  came  to  anchor  in  the  Downs  on  the 
20th  of  October. 

*  *  #  •  « 

I  had  been  absent  from  home  more  than  a  year, 
when  I  found  myself  in  London — in  mighty 
London,  with  its  dark  forests  of  masts  and  its 
darker  cathedral  dome,  that  meets  the  eye  from 
every  point  of  view  :  —  a  wondrous  and  bewilder- 
ing change,  after  traversing  so  long  the  wide  and 
lonely  sea ! 

With  a  heart  swollen  by  anxiety  to  learn  tid- 
ings of  my  father,  my  mother,  and  sisters,  I  reached 
the  counting-house  of  my  uncle's  firm,  Rodney 
and  Co.,  in  the  city,  but  there  was  something  so 
peculiar  in  my  aspect,  which  pertained  neither  to 
sea  nor  shore,  and  was  unmistakably  outlandish, 
that  old  John  Thomas,  the  porter,  seemed  inclined 
to  shut  the  door  in  my  face. 

A  short  explanation,  however,  soon  overcame 
his  scruples,  and  I  was  then  admitted. 

My  uncle  was  at  Erlesmere ;  but  his  head  clerk 
assured  me  that  my  family  were  all  well,  though 
they  had  long  since  given  me  up  for  dead,  as  a 
handsome  (he  assured  me  it  was  very  handsome) 


CONCLUSION.  423 

white  marble  tablet  erected  to  my  memory  in 
the  Rectory  church  remained  to  testify. 

My  letters  from  Cuba  had  never  reached  home ! 

As  I  had  no  desire  to  shock  my  parents  by  a 
sudden  surprise,  a  telegram  preceded  me,  and  in 
less  than  an  hour  I  was  off  by  the  express-train 
for  Erlesmere.  But  with  all  its  speed,  the  express 
seemed  too  slow  for  me.  Marc  Hislop  accom- 
panied me  until  he  could  get  a  ship  ;  but  before 
looking  for  that  he  meant  to  visit  his  old  mother, 
who  lived  somewhere  in  Scotland. 

After  all  that  we  had  undergone,  aU  that  I  had 
to  show  my  family  were  the  sword  and  old  book 
found  in  the  water-logged  brig,  the  creese  of  a 
mutinous  Lascar,  the  ring  given  me  by  the  Gov- 
ernor of  Surabaya,  and  though  mentioned  last 
not  esteemed  the  least,  our  diamond,  of  which 
Marc  EQslop  and  I  have  not  yet  ascertained  the 
value,  or  I  should  rather  say  its  proper  claim  to 
the  designation  of  a  diamond. 

For  Marc  Hislop's  sake,  more  than  my  own,  I 
trust  that  "Our  sanguine  expectations  may  be  real- 
ized, and  that  it  may,  at  all  events,  furnish  him, 
out  of  his  share  of  the  prize,  with  the  means  of 
providing  comfortably  for  the  mother  who  so  ad- 
mirably trained  him  up  to  a  love  of  knowledge 
and  to  a  sense  of  duty. 

I  have  now  realized  the  truth  of  Goethe's  max- 
im: "He  that  looks  forward  sees  one  way  to 
pursue ;  but  he  who  looks  backward  sees  many.^^ 


424  DICK  RODNEY. 

And  so,  tempered  by  a  year  of  adversity,  en- 
lightened by  its  experience  and  suffering,  I  have 
returned,  more  than  ever  determined  to  make  up 
for  lost  time,  and  to  work  my  way  manfully  to 
King's  College,  Cambridge;  after  which,  the  reader 
who  has  accompanied  me  so  far,  may  perhaps 
hear  of  me  again. 


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fully  deserves  the  honor  that  has  been  done  it." — Blackwood' s  Magazine. 

ARMINIUS  YAMBERY; 

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"  Has  all  the  fascination  of  a  lively  romance." — Daily  Telegraph. 


OUE  TOUNQ  FOLKS'  ENCYCLOPE- 
DIA OF  TRAVEL. 

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Folks  Abroad"  and  "Our  Young  Folks  in  Africa" 
combined  in  one  volume.  The  Adventures  of  a  Party  of 
young  Americans  in  Europe,  Algeria,  and  in  South  Central 
Africa.  By  James  D.  McCabe.  Illustrated  with  over  500 
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value  of  the  work." — Boston  Courier. 

"  By  a  popular  writer,  who  tells  an  interesting  story  of  an  interesting  land. 

Such  a  book  as  young  folks  will  understand  and  older  folks  e^vCioy ."  —Wheeling 

Intelligencer.  . 

BOYS'  STORIES. 

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CHARLEY  LUCKEN  AT  SCHOOL  AND  COLLEGE 

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"  •  Whys  and  Wherefores'  presents  on  its  very  cover  an  inquiring-faced 
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it  snows;  Why  a  man  couldn't  be  sent  by  telegraph;  Why  it  isn't  alwayi 
winter;  Why  an  engine  can  go  all  by  itself;  and  a  thousand  questions  of  this 
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by  observant  boys  and  girls.  A  list  of  some  of  those  treated  will  give  an  idea 
of  the  nature  of  the  story;  there  are  the  pin,  the  needle,  candles,  lamps,  pe- 
troleum, the  thermometer,  mirrors,  ivory,  soap,  the  microscope,  steamboats, 
railroads,  locomotives,  etc.  It  is  one  of  the  most  interesting  and  instructive 
books  issued  for  the  young  folks,  and  will  be  regarded  by  many  as  tiieir  great- 
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A  Story.      By   Uncle   Lawrence,  author  of  "Young   Folks* 
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and  its  interest  will  doubtfcss  be  further  increased  by  the  pleasing  story  which 
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Our  Young  Folks'  Plutarch. 

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Being  all  of  Plutarch  Told  in  a  Simple,  Easy,  and 
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By  ROSAilE  KAUFMAN. 

'WITH    ILLTTSTRu^TIONS    -A-ND    MIA.I'S. 

Square  8vo.    Estra  Cloth.    $2.50. 


"  This  is  one  of  the  most  tasteful  and  substantially  handsome 
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of  juvenile  literature.  Plutarch  is  an  author  whose  fascination 
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the  eager  boy  or  thoughtful  girl  to  whom  Plutarch  will  introduce, 
for  the  first  time,  the  splendid  personages  of  whom  he  writes." — 
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